Something Worthwhile
by Straw-hat-Writer
Summary: Saro and Lin were two ordinary girls living a normal life...that was until they met Monkey D. Luffy in their very own home. Follow them as they enter One Piece for an adventure of a lifetime! Rated T for swearing and other T rated things.
1. Chapter 1

**This is just a two chapter blurb of writing I did for no apparent reason, but it came out pretty good and i'm thinking of making a story out of it. So no summary for this really, but i would like to know what you think about this blurb. **

**You know how everything goes, so i'll just leave it to you to read the story.**

* * *

Chapter 1

"That's it!" A quick smash was soon to follow after a sudden outburst from another room. "I quit! I give up! I'm tired of my works never being appreciated! What the hell's the point if all it is getting ridiculed, or ignored?" exclaimed the owner of the voice. She stomped out of the room and sat herself down on a wooden stool and crossed her arms in front of herself.

"What is it now?" asked another voice, less loudly and casual. From the side of the room popped the head of a girl wearing two big pigtails at the top of her head. Strands of blonde hair fell in front of her face, making her look even more ridiculous. The girl on the stool heaved a sigh before running a hand through her short black hair.

"Didn't you just hear me, or were you too busy sending another one of your love-filled fan mail to that pop singing fraud?" she snapped. The blonde haired girl puffed her cheeks and entered the room with her friend and whined, "He's not a fraud! You can be so harsh with words sometimes, you know?" The angry girl sighed, closing her eyes. After opening them again, she had a small smile on her face.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you like that, Lin" she said gently, patting her on the head. Lin smiled brightly and pulled up a chair beside her friend and asked, "So, what happened this time?" She reluctantly turned her head and was silent for a moment. "Saro…" she said, raising an eyebrow as her tone ascended.

"Alright, alright. Another one of my stories were shot down again," she answered, looking back at her friend. Lin stared at her in surprise and held a finger to her chin.

"Wasn't it doing pretty well in the beginning?" she asked dazedly. Saro got up from her seat and paced around the room, hands crossed behind her back. Lin leaned back in her chair, resting her feet on the stool. She quickly pushed the edge of her skirt back to her knees, and then sat back in her chair again.

"It was pretty well received at first, but… well, people lost interest quickly, like with everything else I've written," she muttered audibly. She punched the wall of the broken up, old room, chipping off some pieces of it. Lin sighed and warned, "Hey, careful now. With what you can do, you'll wreak the rest of the house too." Saro merely glared at her friend before collapsing to her knees.

"Hey, don't get so down on yourself. People just can't recognize talent these days," she tried reasoning. But it took more than that to convince Saro that things were out of the dark. She closed her eyes and blew a sigh. She got up off the floor and made her way to the door.

"Ne, where are you going? I was about to have dinner up," Lin called after her.

"I'm going for a walk. I need to clear my head, so just start without me," she called back, closing the door with a slam. Lin lost her balance from the vibration and fell back in her chair. She groaned and rubbed the back of her head, staring back at the closed door.

'She's doing better than expected though,' she thought. "Well, time to start dinner then."

Outside, the air was still. No wind, no noise, nothing. All that could be heard was the rhythmic tapping of Saro's sandals against the pavement. Hands shoved in her pockets, she went along in her steady pace, listening to the silence around her.

'Damn neighborhood. Nothing lively ever happens,' she thought to herself. She continued down the street and turned the corner to reach her usual convenient store. The owner greeted her with his gaped smiled as she smiled back. She grabbed a soda, leaned against the counter to wait for him to run it through the machine.

"What's up, Saro? Another one shot down?" he asked, pausing his typing into the cash register. Saro sighed again and replied, "You know it. I kind of lost my cool and snapped at Lin after this one." The owner looked at her sympathetically and cleared the register of what he typed in.

"This one's on the house," he said in his raspy voice. "Just keep at it, Saro. Who knows, maybe one day you'll get that "berry" award thing." Saro chuckled and corrected him with "Newberry" award. Nonetheless, he encouraged her to keep writing as she left the store. She thanked him over her shoulder and closed the door. A hiss of air escaped from the soda as she opened it.

'Keep at it… till when? The day I'm about to die?' she thought as she took a sip from the cold can. The tapping of her sandals echoed down the street as she slowed her pace, finally to a stop. She glanced up at the sky; the stars were just beginning to come out. Saro smiled as she noticed a shooting star crawl across the night sky.

'I wish something worthwhile would happen to me and Lin. Anything. Just something that'll make this life worth living again.' She continued her pace again after another sip of soda, already close to her home.

"I'm back!" she yelled as she opened the rusty door. She was greeted by her bounding, blonde headed friend as a piece of the ceiling fell upon her head. Lin covered her mouth, and snickered as quietly as she could, but that didn't stop the glaring look she was receiving from the exasperated novelist.

"I'll go take a bath then anyway… now that I'm all covered in cement dust," she grumbled, heading towards a nearby bathroom. Lin shifted her eyes anxiously for a moment and quickly stood in Saro's way. Her bright smile on her face, she suggested Saro have dinner first and then enjoy a nice bath. "I'd rather not sit in my own filth while eating your home cooked meal," answered Saro as she pushed passed her.

'Now I have to find a place to hide!' she frantically thought. Saro turned the door knob of the bathroom, and paused after opening it all the way, her eyes widening in surprise.

* * *

**Tell me what you think! Please!! I've resorted to begging, but when have I not? So, puch that button and submit a review:3 For meeeeee? Don't forget to read the second chapter too... **


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's that 2nd chapter I mentioned earlier. I usually don't do this, but it goes along with the first one in order to make it a fanfic officially, and I don't want to break any rules. Again, please review!!! **

* * *

Chapter 2

There before her stood a boy, looking about her age, with a towel on his head as he, too, paused from drying off his hair. She saw his messy black hair flowing from the contradicting white cloth. He wore a pair of blue shorts that came to his knees, but no shirt, which was hanging loosely from the sink counter. He smiled at her brightly and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. Then, the boy grabbed his shirt and proceeded out of the room for Saro to use it.

"Saro…?" peeped Lin as she cautiously poked her head out from behind a couch. Saro glared at her with one eye which was enough to tell Lin they'd have a conversation later. The novelist promptly shut the door, causing Lin to flinch, and ran the water for her bath. Lin looked at the door with a pout on her face, and then glanced over at the male visitor. He was still rubbing his head dry without his shirt on, causing Lin to squeal in her head while hearts replaced her eyes.

'Ugh…' thought Saro as she slipped into the warm water. She rested her head on the edge of the tub and sighed, parting the steam floating above her head. She stared at the tiled ceiling as her thoughts processed in her head. 'This is ridiculous. I'm gone for a walk and when I return, I find a guy in my bathroom drying off his hair.'

She tried to relax herself and closed her eyes. Thinking of what she could write about next, she drifted off into her thoughts. But, shortly, her peace was broken by the opening of the door, and quick slamming afterwards. Saro's eyes shot open as she slipped to the bottom of the tub.

"Saro! Don't worry, it's me!" whispered the blonde school girl. Saro slowly lifted her head above the water and shouted, "What the-" before having her mouth covered by Lin. She shook herself free of the gripping palm and asked calmly yet with a harsh tone, "What the hell are you doing in here? Why can I not have a moment's peace with you around?"

Lin threw a towel at Saro and sat behind a wall to wait. Seeing no choice in the matter, she dried herself off, and put on her sleeping garments. As she continued to dry her hair, Lin said, "Ne, ne Saro-san…"

'This can't be good,' thought Saro as she listened. Lin never used "-san" with Saro unless she REALLY wanted something.

"Do you think-""No," interrupted Saro abruptly. Lin pouted and whined, "But I didn't even ask anything yet!" Saro glanced at her annoyingly, sighed, and opened the door to leave. Lin followed her out of the bathroom and continued to follow her to the kitchen as well. They took a seat as the stranger openly took a seat himself, without even asking. Saro twitched with an annoyed expression.

"Itadaki-" and before the two could even finish, the stranger helped himself to the scarce cooked meal that Lin prepared with what she could find. Saro sat, quaking in her seat with anger while Lin stared at the stranger. Finally, Saro stood up from the table and left without a word. The sound of a door slamming followed her.

"Did I do something?" asked the retired pop singer, his face in a confused state. Lin looked at him and fell head over heels, hearts in her eyes.

"No!" she squealed. "Nothing at all. She's just having a bad day!" The guy made a concerned face and got up from his seat. Lin looked up curiously as he made his way to the bedroom door of Saro. Her eyes widen and she let out an "eep" as he opened the door and went inside.

Saro glanced over for a brief moment before staring back at the window again. The pop idol scratched the back of his head thoughtfully to think up an apology. He smiled suddenly and plopped himself right in front of Saro. She backed up a little on the bed and continued to stare silently.

"I'm not who you think I am," he laughed. Lin peeked her head in and looked in disbelief at what he said. Saro waved her in and he continued, "I'm actually not from here at all. I dunno what happened, but I woke up one day stuck in a barrel! When I burst out of it, these two guys grabbed me and dragged me into this weird place with big windows and flashy stuff everywhere. They looked like aliens too!" Saro sweated nervously at his absurd story as Lin listened with interest.

"You don't suppose that-" she began before being cut short by Lin shushing her.

"They sat me in a really comfy chair and these three people in weird clothes started talking to me about something. They talked really fast, I could barely keep up! Then they said, 'If you become a singer, we'll pay you money to keep singing.' I didn't get what they were saying, so I said no. I said I was hungry too, and this guy brought a HUGE plat of meat!" He paused a moment to remember what the meat had looked like. "Then they said, 'We'll let you eat all the meat you want if you stay in the singing business.' So, then I said yes!"

'This guy… he's too simplistic… so… IDIOTIC,' thought Saro. Lin could tell what she was thinking and elbowed her in the stomach. She fell forward, immediately falling back from hitting the guy in the head. But he didn't even flinch. He continued on with his story, ignoring what had just happened, "So, I've been singing for the last month, I guess. I didn't really care. I just liked the meat. But I wasn't singing really either. They had a strange looking box machine that made sounds come out of it and all I had to do was move my mouth with it. I got bored so I ran off." He laughed a weird laugh and sat on the floor with his feet together, resting his hands on them.

"So… you're name isn't Hedai Inu?" she groaned, still writhing in pain. He shook his head and he smiled ear to ear again.

"My name's Monkey D. Luffy!"

* * *

**Yes, I know that name I made up at the end is really weird sounding, but I was blurbing something together and that's what I thought of. I tried my best to make the descriptions sound the way Luffy would say it. For the bajillionth time, i ask that you review... i'm desperate... i'm fading away into nothingness...**


	3. Chapter 3

**Well, here's chapter 3! I'm glad to be getting reviews again! So happy. Still can't think of a title, so it will remain title-less till i think of one or a sugestion comes up. Well, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: No ownage of One Piece. Damn it.. **

**" "- Dialogue **

**' '- Thoughts**

* * *

Chapter 3

'Monkey D. Luffy?' thought Saro as she shot up from her laid position. Lin and her shared a glanced and then back at him. He looked at the both of them nervously and tried to bound away as they reached for his face. They both grabbed a cheek and pulled at hard as they could. As they both expected, his face stretched farther than normal… or just plain stretched at all!

"Cbould bou mot bull bmy ehash mike bat (Could you not pull my face like that)?" They released at the same time, snapping it at him which cause him to yelp in pain. Saro got up from her seat and walked out of the room, Lin following her. She paced around the small room with the stool while Lin put up the dishes and Luffy joined them.

"Why'd you have to do that to me?" he whined, rubbing his sore cheeks. Saro looked up from her thinking position and rested her eyes on him.

"What we really need to ask is how you got here in the first place, and if you're the only one that made it," she stated, continuing her pacing. Luffy thought, but quickly gave up and sat down on the stool, slouching forward in boredom.

"I'm so bored… isn't there anything to do?" he whined again. Lin popped out of nowhere with a rope and asked, "How about 'Old West'? I'll be the saloon girl while you are the handsome cowboy who rescues me?" She tightly pulled at the rope, making a whip like sound.

"Ok!" he agreed, eagerly clapping his sandals together. Saro jerked her head over to see a devious look on Lin's face. She dived for her and put her in a headlock while throwing the rope as far as possible. Luffy laughed hysterically and fell off the stool.

"Lin…," she managed to growl under her breath. Lin simply shrugged her shoulders innocently and slipped away. Luffy was still laughing in the background, pounding his fists on the floor. Saro laid on her back and closed her eyes, releasing a long held sigh. The laughter had stopped and she slowly opened her eyes, finding that she was face to face with Luffy. She yelped in surprise and shot up, only to be hit in the head by Luffy's hard cranium.

"You guys are interesting!" he laughed, rubbing the back of his in a relaxed manner. "I'd really like you to join my crew. You'd be great entertainers!"

"I'm not here to entertain you!" she shouted angrily, sitting up on her hands. He just grinned at her, and walked off to the refrigerator. "Oi! I'm talking to you! I need to ask you a few more questions!" she yelled. He made a sound resembling a mumbled "ok", and she just sighed.

'Just what I need; an idiot with no manners and a girl with no self restraint,' she thought. The tired novelist stood up from the floor, dusted herself off, and began to pace around again. 'If there would be any chance that anyone else had made it here, they probably adapted better than he did. But, why would they not be able to recognize Luffy being on the television for a month?' she asked herself.

"Ne… Saro, we're out of food. Go out to the grocery and buy more," said Lin in her usual whiny tone just to get Saro to do something. She glared at the school girl who smiled back. Too tired to argue, she sighed and left to get dressed and go buy the food.

'This is ridiculous. Monkey D. Luffy from the streamline anime One Piece actually turns out to be one of Japan's #1 pop singer in our world. This world is stranger than I thought it would be,' she inquired while dressing. Leaving her room, she bumped right into Luffy. For some reason unknown to her, she blushed.

"Oi. Why were you standing outside my door?" she asked in an apprehensive manner, trying to make the blood stop rushing to her face.

"Can I come too?" he asked, not in a whiny voice this time. She raised an eyebrow and asked him why he'd rather not stay here. "Your friend really scares me now," he answered, gesturing over his shoulder. She peeked over, nearly collapsing as she saw Lin muttering quite loudly about Luffy's physique.

"I wouldn't stay here either…" she commented under her breathe. The two left the small house, after convincing Lin that they'd be back soon and that she should clean up a room for Luffy. As soon as she hopped away happily, they closed the door and proceeded down the street. Saro glanced up at the sky, seeing another shooting star, or maybe the same one.

'It's your fault this is happening, you know that?' she thought to herself as she smirked slightly at the moving light. She was interrupted from her thoughts by a loud rumble from Luffy's stomach.

"Sorry, I'm still hungry," he said, somewhat embarrassed.

"But you just ate!" she exclaimed, annoyed. Heaving a sigh, she suggested going to a ramen restaurant before buying the groceries. He didn't know what ramen was, but he was convinced that it was food and it tasted good. Entering the restaurant, they were greeted by a burst of steam. Luffy's mouth watered as he smelled the aroma of the ramen. Saro quickly placed an order before he could snatch someone else's bowl with his rubbery hands.

'Hm… there could be a chance Sanji is here. That "Help Wanted" sign they put up was gone the same month Luffy was a singer,' she collected in her thoughts. The bowls arrived and Luffy dived right in with chopsticks in hand. Saro ate like a civilized, sane person, her thoughts still on the mystery upon them. But before she knew it, Luffy was ordering another three bowls.

"Hey! This costs money you know!" she exclaimed, slamming her hand on the table.

"Oh. Sorry," he said absent mindedly. She let this one go since he didn't know better, but warned him that that's all he'd have to eat. He agreed and sat impatiently for his meal.

'How do the other characters deal with him? Especially Sanji, of all of them?' she thought as she finished off her own bowl. The waiter came by and reached out his hand to supposedly pick up her bowl, but grabbed her hand instead.

"Oh, such a beautiful woman I see before me. Her raven hair glossy in the steam, her eyes piercing," he recited as he was down on one knee. Luffy laughed with a mouth full of ramen and Saro sat still, somewhat disgusted. "Luffy?" the waiter exclaimed. He turned his head, the blonde hair moving with him.

* * *

**Bad cliffy, but I didn't want to go any farther than this. Who could that blonde haired waiter be??? Are Saro's insightfulness thoughts correct??? Find out next time in chapter 4! (Currently being written. 50 percent done by the time someone reviews) Speaking of reviews, they'd be nice. X)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Still can't think of a title, but i'm 4 chapters into the story. -shrug- I'll take suggestions, but no guarantee that i'll use it. XD Anyway, time to find out who that blonde haird waiter is(If you couldn't...) and see what happens next!**

**" "- Dialogue**

**' '- Thoughts**

**OoOoO- Scene Change**

* * *

Chapter 4

"Sanji!" exclaimed Luffy as he greeted his crewmate after being separated. Saro sat in disbelief, but also expectance that he would show up. She rested her head in her hands, trying to relieve herself of a headache.

"Luffy! Where have you been?" he asked, glad he finally found his air headed Captain.

"Where have _you _been? Luffy's shown up on the television more times necessary for you to figure out he's here," commented Saro. Sanji glanced at her, and half glared because 1. For his respect of women, and 2. Her comment wasn't entirely necessary.

"Well," he began, "I don't really know what you are talking about. What's a television?" Saro shrugged her shoulders, and agreed with a "Good Point" answer. After paying the bill, and keeping Saro from blowing a fuse, the three of them left for the grocery store to complete the needed task that Lin put Saro up to.

'Now that Sanji and Luffy are here, there might be a chance Sanji knows the way back to their world so this can all be over,' she thought. Luffy marched along ahead of them, smiling brightly. Saro sighed, pulling off her jacket because of the warm, night air. Politely, Sanji offered to take her jacket, but she declined.

"Quite the gentlemen you are," she complimented. Sanji made a short bow with his head when the loud sound of Luffy's stomach erupted. He smiled sheepishly and held a hand to his head and the other to his stomach.

"You _just_ ate!" yelled Saro and Sanji in unison. They looked at each other, and had a laugh, Luffy joining in as well. Suddenly remembering what she needed to do, she abruptly stopped and addressed Sanji.

"Were you and Luffy the only ones that came here to this world?" she asked, her tone serious. He nodded and went on to explain, "I remember a bright light and we showed up in an alley way. I heard a crash and opened my eyes when I saw Luffy being dragged away. I was too groggy to get up, so I fell asleep. When I woke up, I was in that restaurant owner's kitchen. In return for helping me, I worked for him."

'I was right. He did adapt pretty well,' she thought. "Well, we'll investigate this later. Let's just get the groceries and get home." 'Though I'm worried of the results,' she added in an after-thought.

OoOoOoO

"SARO!" screamed Lin as she walked through the door with Luffy. "You said you wouldn't be gone long!" Saro walked ahead, ignoring her while rubbing the inside of her ear. Lin heard another pair of footsteps, and turned to find another guy walk into her humble abode.

"Hello, miss," greeted Sanji with a bow. Lin clapped her hands together and squealed, out loud. Luffy continued to help Saro with the groceries as Lin ogled over Sanji, who didn't really mind much. Luffy laughed again at the two blonde headed people as they got along well with each other.

"I figured they'd be friends soon enough," muttered Saro. Luffy glanced at her, and laughed again.

"Really? How?" he asked, quite interested in her assumption. She waved it off and said she'd explain later. As soon as the groceries were put up, all four of them sat in the small living room. Saro sat in a lounge chair while Luffy sat on the ground, and Lin and Sanji sat on the couch.

"Now Sanji, you said you knew where you guys showed up, correct?" Saro asked, leaning forward while resting her elbows on her knees. He nodded; quickly returning back to complimenting Lin. Saro cocked her head to the side, annoyed, and just shook it out of her. 'Problem solved then or at least halfway since we don't know how exactly they got here.'

Saro sat in thought, trying to contemplate a plan to get them back home and keep Lin from killing her. Luffy glanced over at a medium sized box with several buttons lining the bottom of it. It rested on a small table with smaller boxes stored under it. He crawled over and pushed the biggest button he saw. Suddenly the box flashed on with moving pictures and he jumped back in surprise.

"What the hell?" he exclaimed, staring at the moving pictures. Sanji was also caught off guard and nearly fell onto Lin in surprise. Saro, broken from concentration, got up and turned off the television.

"That's called a television. It lets you watch things from home without actually being where the action is happening, but that's not important," she explained, returning back to her seat. "What is important is getting you back to your world before things could get out of hand." Luffy pouted at her and crawled over to look at her.

"But I don't want to go back. Its fun over here!" he whined. Then he put his hands together, stuck out his lower lip, and looked at her with puppy eyes. "Can me and Sanji stay longer? Please?"

"You think I won't say "No" if you make that face?" she said, raising an eyebrow. He nodded, and she chuckled in an evil manner to herself. "Sadly mistaken. If it doesn't work with Lin, it won't work with you." 'He does look cute though… OI! What am I thinking?' she yelled in her mind.

"Anyway," she continued out loud, "don't you think the rest of your crew is worried about the two of you?" Luffy returned to his normal expression and lightly smacked a fist into his palm in understanding.

"You're right! We do have to come back, even if we can't explore this cool place anymore," he reasoned, followed by Saro sighed in relief. But, as always there was that one thing that broke that brief, brief relief. That was Lin.

"But you can't go!" she whined, grabbing onto Sanji's arm. "Lin wants Sanji and Luffy to stay with Lin!" Sanji agreed non-hesitantly as Luffy cocked his head to think. Saro glared at her, making Lin slightly nervous.

"Sanji, what about Nami and Robin? Don't you think they miss you?" Saro argued, confident that this was to surely work. Sanji was hit with a shocked expression and lowered his head to think. Then, he thought of a _brilliant_ plan to solve both their problems.

"True the crew misses us, but when we leave Lin will miss us!" Luffy explained as if he knew what Sanji was thinking, though it was quite obvious that this was true. "So, you guys have to come back with us!" Saro fell out of her seat in disbelief as Lin openly agreed with it by hugging Sanji.

"Luffy. Lin might want to go to your world, but I don't exactly want to. I have a life I want to make here," she explained which earned her a half serious look from Luffy.

"But if Saro doesn't go, Luffy will miss Saro," he said. Saro's face went bright red at what he said, and she quickly got up to regain her composure.

"Let's just go to bed, and we'll think more about it in the morning. It's late. Sanji and Luffy can have my room, and I'll sleep in Lin's room," she suggested, a slight tinge of red still on her cheeks. The four split into their groups and the two doors shut. Saro snuggled into the laid out mattress on the floor and quickly dozed off as the words, "Luffy will miss Saro" echoed in her mind.

* * *

**Oh the cute third person usage. Couldn't help myself, especially when Luffy says it to Saro. XD Please review!!! You'll find out her decision next time in Chapter 5:3 **


	5. Chapter 5

**Well, this was the only story I felt like updating today. So here it is! What is Saro's decision on the matter of going to the One Piece world? Did Luffy get to her? Find out NOW!**

**You know the key... right?**

* * *

Chapter 5

Saro shifted uncomfortably on her bed and laid on her right side. The bed had become unusually warmer for some reason, and their house didn't have any heating. She could hear Sanji's mumbling through the open door of Lin's room, and the heavy breathing of Lin.

'I can't take it,' she thought to herself. She kicked off the blanket and relaxed from the cool rush of air from the half open window. But as soon as the novelist was getting relaxed, the blanket crawled back up towards her. Saro slowly lifted her tired eye lids and noticed a figure lying beside her.

"Lin?" she groggily asked while rubbing her eyes.

"Yeah?" she heard from behind her. She turned around to see another tired face which _was_ Lin's and her own eyes shot open. Looking back, she lifted the covers to reveal a curled up, black haired boy in her bed. He cringed in the cold air and reached for a pillow, but grabbed Saro instead, and pulled her close. Lin was shocked, and Saro was speechless as her face began turning red.

"LUFFY!" Saro shot up from the bed and jumped behind Lin as Luffy rolled off the bed in shock as well. "What the hell were you doing in my bed? With me still in it!" she exclaimed. Luffy got up with half his face covered by the blanket, and he smiled, obviously oblivious to what he had just done.

"Sanji was talking in his sleep last night, so I went out to your room," he said with a smile on his face. Saro swallowed hard and asked him again, "Why were you in _my_ bed of all places?" Luffy simply shrugged as Sanji showed up at the bedroom door.

"Saro-chan! Are you alright?" he asked. She simply shook her head, and placed a palm to her forehead. She got up from Lin's bed and proceeded to the restroom, closing it very lightly and locking the door. "What happened?" he asked.

"Luffy was sleeping with Saro," Lin answered, now fully awake. Sanji's eye widened, and then narrowed as he dived for Luffy. He grabbed his shirt and began shaking him senseless while yelling almost incoherently.

"Why were you sleeping with Saro-chan? Why do you get to be in bed with another girl? You're only 17!" he yelled which sounded half whiny and half serious. Luffy tried to apologize between shakes, but it came out all stuttered. The door to the restroom opened and Sanji stopped, and glanced over to see Saro with arms crossed and foot tapping.

"Get ready, all of you. We're going back today," she demanded. As the novelist started breakfast, the other three cleaned themselves up and joined her in the kitchen. Luffy bounded over to see what Saro was making while Lin and Sanji had a seat at the table.

"Do you need any help, Saro-chan?" asked Sanji, being the gentlemen that he is. Saro declined his help, and he took a seat, discussing something with Lin.

"What are you making? It smells good," asked Luffy as he peeked over her shoulder. Saro shook him off and answered, "Bacon and eggs." She opened a toaster, popped a few slices of bread in, turned the dial, and closed it. She added a small pinch of salt to the eggs, and let them sit there for a while. "Luffy, get me a couple of plates from there," she asked while pointing to the cabinet door.

"OK!" he agreed. He opened the door and saw several plates, big and small. He grabbed four of them and placed them on the counter while closing the cabinet. She slid the eggs and bacon onto each plate and added another pinch of pepper just as the toaster rang. Luffy, surprisingly, passed the plates to everyone and Saro gave everyone a piece of bread.

"Itadakimasu," they said together, and then began their meals. Luffy, of course, was quick to finish and eyed everyone's food longingly. Lin was happily eating hers as Sanji was savoring the taste to make a judgment about it. Saro hadn't touched her food, so she just gave the plate to Luffy.

"Whoo! Thanks!" he whooped as he dug in. Sanji complimented on the taste and finished off his plate as well as Lin. He offered to wash dishes and collected everyone's plates while Saro went to get her coat. She thought about whether or not to go into Luffy's world with the rest of them.

'Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Being around these guys makes life so fun… and noisy too. It'd be too quiet again once they're gone.' Saro placed her coat on as everyone walked out to the front door. She turned out all the lights and grabbed her key.

"Why do you need your key?" asked Lin as she placed her jacket on. Saro glanced at her, no glare, no sarcastic look, and smiled at her.

"Never know if we'll come back here again," she simply answered. "Now, let's go to the alley way where you showed up. There might be a clue or two there." All four of them left, and the sound of the door closing echoed inside the empty home.

OoOoOoO

After telling the neighbors to watch out after their home, asking the ramen shop owner where they dragged Sanji from, and hiding Luffy so the music industry people wouldn't find him, they all made it to a simple ally way where the two had first shown up. The broken barrel Luffy had described was even there.

"Hm…" Saro scrutinized the surrounding walls for a moment before walking up to one and placing her hand on it. No phasing, no bright light, nothing. She tried again with the other two walls to get the same result. "Well, you didn't come through the walls or the pavement." She looked up at the sky for any sign of distortion or light. Nothing again.

'This could be a problem,' she thought. Lin tried what Saro did with two of the walls, but also received the same results. She tried once again with the third wall, but this time, her hand phased through the wall. She panicked and pulled her hand out and carresed it as if it were burnt. Saro blinked in disbelief and tried again herself, but it didn't happen.

"Odd," she pondered. "Luffy, Sanji you two try." They did as told and both their hands went through as well. Saro thought for a moment to think of why it wouldn't work for her.

"Maybe it doesn't like you," suggested Lin. Saro glared at such a ridiculous answer and came up with a better solution.

"All of you do want to return to the other world, so maybe it accepts only those who wish to go," she reasoned, making Luffy pout.

"So, Saro doesn't want to come with us?" he asked in his whiny voice. She looked embarrassed and confused because she did want to go, but she just wasn't sure. She leaned against the magical wall, and sighed.

'I do want to go, but I'm just too afraid,' she told herself. There was silence in the air for a moment when suddenly Saro began falling back, and then… from the sky.

* * *

**I thought that fluff in the beginning was funny in my head, but that'll only ur review will determine if it sounds good in words. GASP! What happened to Saro?! Only I know!!! BWUAHAHAHAHA! Review and i'll tell you what happened! XP**


	6. Chapter 6

**My update, as usual. Don't expect anything for tomorrow though, i'll probably be pretty brain dead by the end of the day. I probably won't update anything till this weekend again when i can unwind. So enjoy what you can out of this chapter and i'll see you next time!**

* * *

Chapter 6

Saro screamed as she fell fast from the clouds, the air rushing past her. She was coming down fast towards water, the blue growing closer and closer. She threw her arms front of her face, closed her eyes, and braced for impact. There was a loud crashing sound as her body hit the ocean, and there were three thuds that followed.

The novelist swam back to the surface and gasped for air as she saw an enormous ship sail towards her. She screamed again just as she was swooped up by a stretching arm onto the head of a lion. Saro gasped for air like a fish out of water for a moment, and coughed up a few shots of it. Her dark, wet hair clung to her face as it dripped with ocean water.

"Saro! Saro, are you ok?" asked Luffy, looking at her with concern written all over his face. She looked up at him, and just nodded her head as he helped her up. They crawled over the mane of the lion head onto the lawn type deck. The first thing Saro noticed was a fish pond near the center of the ship which was empty at the moment.

"Saro!" yelled Lin as she came over to her friend. "Saro, are you ok? Are you hurt?" Saro shook her head, sending water in several directions. A towel was thrown at her, and as she took it off, Sanji stood before her.

"You'll catch a cold if you're wet," he said. She thanked him and rubbed off the water from her head, and hung the towel around her neck. She took a gander around the huge ship and began walking around to explore it. A woman with orange hair walked out of a room while reading a map and ran right into Saro.

"Sorry," Saro apologized while the orange haired lady just stared at her.

"Who are you?" she asked quite rudely, but Saro didn't mind much because she knew who this lady was. She got up, and introduced herself.

"My name's Saro, and that blonde girl over there," she pointed at Lin who was rolling around in the grass, "her name's Lin. It's a pleasure to meet you…"

"Nami," she finished. Saro had planned on being inconspicuous to not arouse complications with the crew. Lin on the other hand, she had to watch out for. The two women shook hands after Saro helped her up. A wind blew by, making Saro shiver and grab herself.

"Nami! Get Saro some clean, dry clothes!" called Luffy. Nami looked at him, then back at Saro.

"Alright," she answered. "But for a price..." she answered in a shadowy tone. Luffy bounded over and pouted in her face and whined, "Come on! She can't wear guy's clothes and Robin's is probably too big for her!" Nami raised an eyebrow to him at first, but he still stood his ground. Seeing as there would be no way of making money off his new friend, she gave up and did as was told. Luffy smiled at his accomplishment, and bounded off the the other side of the ship.

Nami led her through a door that was for the women's quarters which was the grandest room Saro had ever seen in her life in the other world. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling and the two beds had something resembling tapestries hanging from the frame built above them. The room had two extra beds as well which were just as grand, and the floors were tiled.

'This kind of room only shows up in fairy tales of the royal,' thought Saro

"Whoa. This is amazing!" she excalimed, who was then surprised her voiced echoed in the room itself. Nami led her down a small flight of stairs and showed her a clothes cabinet. Opening it, she revealed a whole expanse of clothing which all looked to be pretty expensive for someone who hated to give money to others.

"Do you wear all these clothes?" the novelist asked, feeling at the soft silk of a blouse.

"Yeah. Why else would I buy them?" Nami answered as if it was the dumbest question to ask. "Choose anything you like, and I'll go get your friend." Saro nodded as Nami left the room to retrieve the bounding, blonde head.

"Let's see. What should I wear?" she pondered, looking at all the clothes. Then a pair of hands appeared out of nowhere and held up black capris and a white button up long sleeved shirt.

"How about these?" asked a soothing voice from behind her. She turned around to see a black haired woman with piercing eyes and a mature face. Saro recognized her right away, but stuck to her plan anyway.

"Who are you?" she asked, grabbing hold of the two articles of clothing she recommended and also a red t-shirt that had caught her attention.

"I am Nico Robin. Pleasure to meet you, Saro," she answered. Saro, realizing she had forgotten to introduce herself first, bowed apologetically. Robin simply waved it off and showed her a changing room.

Saro closed the door and blew a sigh. She removed her wet shirt and dried herself off before pulling the red t-shirt over her head. She dried off her hair again, and then continued changing and drying off. She held all the wet clothes as she exited the room, and found her friend also glancing at the massive amount of clothing. She, too, was dripping with water, but Saro hadn't bothered to ask at all. A pair of hands popped up before her, so she gently placed the wet clothes onto them. A row appeared and they all set to work to hang them somewhere to dry.

"Thanks," she said meekly. Robin smiled at her as she continued her work. Lin came bounding over with an armful of clothes, but Saro stopped her before she entered the room. "Don't say their names openly until you've asked them what they are, ok? We don't want to bring up anything suspicious." Lin nodded and hurried into the room.

"Well, I'll be going outside then. Thank you for the clothes," she announced as she made her way to the stairs. Nami watched her with suspicion until she closed the door.

"No need to worry, Navigator-san. She and her friend are friends of Luffy. That's all matters, right?" she assured, noticing her glaring eyes. But Nami wasn't too sure, knowing how idiotic Luffy could be. She couldn't trust the two just yet, especially Saro… there was a strange feeling about her that made Nami apprehensive. The navigator sauntered up to the porthole and peeked out, narrowing her eyes in a glare at Saro as she spoke to Sanji.

'I don't trust her. There's just… something about that girl.'

* * *

**Pretty short, yes I know. But I just don't like writing much in a chapter. Some tension between Nami and Saro right off the bat, and Saro actually fell into One Piece! Well, just something for you to ponder over while i'm gone, so see ya next time! **

**Saro: Reviews would be nice, especially kind ones. **

**Luffy: Yup, yup! If you want to read more about me and Saro, you'll review! -hugs Saro-**

**Saro: -/////////-**


	7. A Little Drunk

**Sorry for the long wait, but here I am with chapter 7! Exams are this week for me, so this and maybe 2 other stories will be updated and then it's study time for me. I will probably update friday of this week . Well, enjoy! Warning: Alchol reference in this chapter. **

* * *

Chapter 7

Saro rolled up the sleeves of the button up shirt which she left open. Her red t-shirt ruffled in the wind as she leaned against the side of the ship, looking out at the sea. Sanji had left to begin making dinner, followed into the kitchen by Nami. Lin had adjusted easily to the change and was fast asleep on the grass with a little reindeer in her arms. Now, she was wearing a black tank top with blue jeans she somehow found.

'It's so peaceful, but I can't shake the feeling of apprehension,' the novelist thought as she sighed. A boy about Luffy's age walked out of the men's cabin and noticed Saro by herself.

"Who are you?" he asked, walking up to her. Saro turned her head, and greeted him.

"My name's Saro. Nice to meet you…"

"Captain Usopp is the name," he said boldly. Saro glanced away with an annoyed expression, and quickly returned to her normal face. "What brings you to my wondrous ship?"

"Be quiet. You talk too much, Usopp," interrupted a grumpy green, haired man. She turned around and saw the man with three swords at his side walk towards her. He scratched his head sleepily, and yawned. "My name is Roronoa Zoro. You must be Saro." Speechless, she simply nodded her head and gulped.

'He's a frightening man in person,' she added in after thought. She left the two guys to bicker about nonsense to search for another place for silence. Just then, Luffy yelled out happily and burst out of the kitchen.

"I found my hat!" he yelled, holding his hat triumphantly in the air. Saro chuckled to herself and decided to sneak into the kitchen. She found a quiet corner to sit and looked around the spacious room as Luffy's running footsteps faded away. There was a table that could fit all the crewmembers with room to spare, and a glorious kitchen area. Nami sat by the table, sipping some of her cocktail, prepared by no other than Sanji, who was busy cutting up some meat.

"Ah! Saro-chan, I didn't notice you had come in!" exclaimed Nami in a sweet tone. Saro nearly jumped out of her seat in surprise, but quickly regained composure. She smiled and joined her at the table, where Nami offered her a glass as well.

"No thank you," the writer refused. "I'm not very alcohol tolerant. I don't like the taste either." Nami smiled and placed the glass back on the table. Saro sat nervously as she continued speaking with Nami. Sanji had offered her a smoothie, but she also refused, getting up to leave the kitchen.

"Where are you going? We were just about to get to know each other better," asked Nami in a carefree tone. Saro turned back from the door, smiled, and answered, "We can do so another time. I look forward to it." The door quietly shut while Nami's eyes narrowed in disgust.

'She thinks she's so sly. Luffy must've done something to get her to come here from wherever he was. I'll find out soon enough.'

Saro walked across the deck towards the lion's head, jumped up a few steps and landed on the snout… where Luffy was already sitting. She saw his yellow hat, tried not to land with her feet, and landed right into his lap in a sitting position. She began turning as red as her t-shirt, while the captain was flustered from being landed on suddenly.

"Saro! What are you doing here?" he asked, in his usual bright tone. She quickly got up and sat next to him on the snout, keeping a small gap between them.

"Umm… I-I was just going to sit here and watch the sea," she stuttered, still embarrassed. He laughed, and the both of them sat in silence, watching the sun slowly sink below the horizon. Saro sighed contently, the first time she has in a while, breaking the silence for a brief moment.

"Ne Saro," he said, "will you join my crew?" She glanced at him with surprised eyes, and laughed.

"Haven't I already?" she asked. He shook his head and replied, "You never gave me an answer or said anything about it." Saro paused a moment to think, realizing he was actually right. Before she could answer, Sanji announced that dinner was ready. Like a rocket, he shot up from the snout, holding Saro's wrist, and ran into the kitchen.

"Foooooooood!" he yelled as he took his seat. Shaken, Saro also took a seat by the table next to him while the other crew members gathered around. Seated next to her was Lin, still groggy and holding the little reindeer. The small, little animal rubbed its eyes and yawned.

"Hey there little guy," greeted Saro. "My name's Saro. What's yours?" Surprised, the little reindeer hopped up, and landed on the table. He quickly ran and hid behind Sanji's leg, the wrong half of him showing. The cook chuckled and continued his way to the table to set the food.

"Chopper is his name, and don't worry. He's just a little weird," he joked. Chopper hit his leg in anger and left for his seat. Sanji also took his seat beside Nami while Robin sat besides Chopper. Just before Luffy could dive into the feast of food set before him, Nami raised her glass.

"I propose a toast," she said, "to the two girls joining our crew today." Everyone, even Luffy willingly, raised their glass and cheered. Lin raised her glass which was then filled with wine, but Saro refused to do so with her own.

"Saro, what are you doing?" whined Lin.

"I would prefer not to toast to a glass of wine," she said firmly. Sanji was about to pour her a glass of juice instead when Nami stopped him.

"Oh, come on, Saro-chan! What's a toast without a little wine? Even Luffy's drinking it, and he's under-age just like you!" she reasoned. Saro thought nervously about what to do when those words Luffy had asked echoed in her head.

'_Ne Saro…will you join my crew?' _She groaned softly to herself and reluctantly raised the glass, having Sanji pour wine into it. Luffy laughed, and smiled at her, making her feel a little worse about drinking wine.

"To Lin and Saro!" exclaimed Nami. Everyone repeated and took a swig of the wine. Saro stared into the dark red drink in her hands, closed her eyes and slowly drank it to the last little drop. Her face contorted a bit due to the bitter taste she hated in wine, but she wasn't alone. Luffy also made a face to the bitter taste of the wine. The two were the first to eat something off the table to relieve their taste buds. After them, everyone began fighting their way to get food before Luffy could.

OoOoOoO

Saro slouched by the side of the ship, her face red and blushing due to the other three glasses of wine Nami made her drink. But she wasn't in the state of being drunk though, just a little unstable. After leaving the kitchen, she was a little wobbly, so she decided to take a seat. Nami, on the other hand who was trying to convince Saro to drink even more, was drunk as ever. Along with Sanji too, which didn't always mean the best of things.

"Hey… Saro!" greeted Luffy again, who was actually a bit drunk. He squatted down in front of her, and smiled, wobbling back and forth a little. The writer eyed him a little before greeting him back. "Did hic you have a good t-time?" Afraid she might say something stupid if she opened her mouth, she simply nodded.

'I might be physically limited right now, but I still have a sane mind,' she thought. Lin bounded around the ship with Sanji and Nami, surprisingly not drunk like the rest of them. Suddenly, the captain fell forward into Saro, resting his head on her stomach. She gasped a little, and found it very hard to breath with him on her.

"Gomen… Saro," he mumbled before rolling over and sleeping on the grass instead. His steady breathing slowly lulled her to a tired state. She leaned back against the side wall, her eyes drooping. A thought reached her mind as she fell asleep, slid down the side of the wall, and landed on Luffy's rubbery arm. With what little conciseness she had left, she slid off his arm, and just curled up beside him for warmth.

'Am I… still sane to be here?' she thought when she felt a hand rest on the side of her arm. She subtly smiled as the captain and her dozed off to sleep.

* * *

**Was that sweet or what? Even if Luffy's a little drunk... XD I'm thinking of making this part one of this little... drunken fiasco. I think I might update two chapters on this. Well, look forward to chapter 8, and see you next time! (Review please!) **


	8. A Little Drunk Pt 2

**Part 2 of the drunken fiasco! XD It kinda gets random, but this entire story doesn't really have a plot to it yet, so enjoy the radom adventures as they come! Also, I apologize for not updating mt other stories, like My Destiny. I'll start back to writing again on friday, or possibly thursday night. ;; Anyway, have fun! **

* * *

Chapter 8

Lin's high pitched laughing echoed through the ship, not that anyone was sober enough to care in anyway. Zoro was fast asleep, with Chopper and Usopp, by the mast, the only heavy drinker that was sober for normal sleep. Robin fell asleep reading one of her thick, history books. Luffy and Saro, who was contently curled up by him, were also soundly sleeping the night away.

"Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeell," said Nami as she swayed back and forth, "I think I 'ought to hic get to bed now." With that, she promptly fell face first into the grassy lawn and was drunk-dead sleeping.

"Good night, my sweet angel," slurred Sanji as he drunkenly swooned over her. Lin watched him, and a mischievous grin spread across her face. She poked him on the shoulder and smiled as he turned around towards her.

"Sanji…" she whispered. "No one's awake, and I'm bored. Let's have a little fun tonight…" Sanji, obviously interpreting it differently, almost blushed red until she whispered in his ear what she really meant. A bit disappointed, he agreed to her plan and they snuck into Nami's map room to get ink and a thing paintbrush. Lin grabbed a small bag filled with make-up, and she also grabbed several clips and hair bands.

"Ok, so you go to Saro, Luffy, and Chopper while I take care of the rest," whispered Lin. Sanji nodded and the two left to their mischievous deeds. Sanji squat down towards Luffy, and drew a circle over one eye. Then a goatee, curly moustache, and wrote "Idiot" on his forehead. He drew other ridiculous pictures on Saro's face and stood back to examine his work of art.

"Hmm… it won't be too bad if I do this…" he mumbled as he unbuttoned Luffy's vest and looked around for something to splash on the captain. He found a bucket of water, and poured a little trickle of it on his chest. As expected, he shivered and curled up closer towards Saro, pulling her closer towards him as well, until her forehead rested against his chest. Sanji smiled brightly at what he had achieved, and quickly scurried off to bring mischief to Chopper.

"That'll do," whispered Lin in satisfaction. After putting another clip in a certain swordsman's green, buzz-cut hair, she left to find Sanji, who had fallen asleep somewhere on the deck. She sat next to him and poked him till he turned over and smiled at her.

"Are you happy, Lin-chan?" he asked as she settled down next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. She blushed happily and nodded her head as she, too, finally began to fall asleep.

'Man… being drunk isn't as bad as I thought,' she thought to herself. The night ended with the two falling asleep together with the sun barely breaking past the horizon line.

The captain's eyes fluttered open from a ray of light that reached him, and they slowly focused. He suddenly felt a warm presence by him and looked down by his arms. Jaw dropped and eyes wide open, he blushed to an extreme pink and sweated nervously. Saro's short, black hair lay against his chest, her breathing cooled his skin, and her heartbeat faintly rang in his ears. Luffy nervously gulped and panicked about what to do.

'What is she even doing here? What the heck happened last night?' he frantically thought. Then, she shifted her head, brushing the strands of her hair against his chest, the soft touch making him blush even more but at the same time was calming him down. He smiled at her, brushed the hair off of her eyes, and rested his head back against the grass. 'Well, it isn't that bad.'

OoOoOoO

Moaning a little, Saro opened up her eyes to find herself looking at the skin of another person. She blushed, realizing who she was resting her head against. Slowly, the writer pulled away just a bit and looked up at the face of her air-headed captain, soundly sleeping. The day was dawning, and his hair gleamed in the rays of sun that escaped past the clouds. His rhythmic breathing matched the beating of his heart, both echoing each time he exhaled. Saro felt as if her face was blushing several shades of red at once, but at the same time, she felt as if they were the only ones there on the ship.

'I have to snap out of it!' she yelled in her mind. Trying not to wake the dozing captain, she slowly inched away from him, only to find that his arm was still on her.

"Luffy…" she mumbled under her breath. Saro lightly grabbed his hand, and placed it on the grass of the lawn. Still moving slowly, she inched away from him again until she was far enough to stand up. The writer stretched, groaning a little. After blowing a sigh, she noticed his face was in a fearful expression. His hands were trembling for some reason, and pulled towards himself.

'What's going on?' she thought. Figuring he was having a bad dream, she turned to leave when he whispered her name. She slowly turned around, seeing him still in his panicked state. 'What do I do?' she asked herself almost emotionlessly. Looking around, making sure everyone was sleeping, she kneeled down beside him. The raven haired writer moved the hair from his eyes and slowly bent forward, and lightly, very lightly, kissed him upon the forehead. Almost immediately, he calmed down. His hands ceased their trembling and his face relaxed into content while a red blush slowly surfaced on his cheeks.

"Ooooo!" squeaked a voice from behind Saro. She spun around and saw a snickering Lin with a devilish look on her face and her picture phone in hand. Saro's eyes wanted to curse every fiber of Lin's being as she began to sweat nervously.

"Lin…" she said in a hushed voice. "I know you're still drunk, but give me the phone." The school girl shook her head and wobbled a bit backwards. Leaving her no choice, Saro leapt at Lin and the two were entangled in a brawl. The other crew members quickly woke up, excluding Luffy, and broke up the two from tearing each other up.

"What's going on?" asked Usopp as the two calmed down.

"Oh nothing," Lin answered in her innocent little voice. "Just a friendly little duel between friends and this…" she replied as she lifted up the picture. Saro shook herself free of Zoro as he went to examine the photo. They broke into laughter when Saro ran through and grabbed the phone, surprised to see only a picture of Lin making a funny face with ink all over her face. She blinked in disbelief and glanced at her friend, who winked slyly back.

"That was… just a set up…" she whispered with her jaw dropping. Lin snickered in her face as it burned into a deep red. Saro dropped the phone and slowly walked off into the kitchen, dread following after her. Shortly after she closed the door, Luffy woke up from his sleeping state and groggily lifted his head. He glanced over and noticed his entire crew laughing their heads off about something.

"Huh? What the hell happened?"

* * *

**So much fluff!! A weird ending, yes, but at least it isn't a cliffhanger. Heh heh... Lin's got a secret that she can torture Saro about for a while. (X3 I'm so mean... XD) I'll probably update again tomorrow. Review please! **


	9. Fruit of the Devil

**I think I FINALLY thought of a title for this story, and a Summary too. Still not too sure, but i'll change it anyway soon enough. It's not that original, but who cares? XD I was writing up new chapters for this one yesterday, and i got a chance to edit one of them to post. Well, here it is!

* * *

**

Chapter 9

'Oh man, I'm starving…,' thought Saro as she regretted waiting for everyone else to eat first before she did. She leaned against the side of the ship as she thought about how unwise it was to do that since one of the people she was waiting for had a bottomless stomach. Lin and Sanji had tried to convince her not to wait, but she refused anyway, earning her an empty stomach. 'Damn rubber boy and his stretching stomach.'

"Saro-chan," called a voice outside her thoughts. She turned her head in the direction of the sound to find Sanji walking towards her. He stood beside her, taking out a cigarette to light, but changed his mind. The writer glanced back out at the sea, watching it glisten in the shining sun. Shortly after, a growl erupted from her stomach. She blushed and made a face of embarrassment.

"Gomen…" she muttered, still red from embarrassment. He simply laughed and said, "It's alright. We'll buy you something to eat at the next island." She smiled at him and he grinned back, not falling into his craze of love… that is until Lin came hopping over, clinging onto his arm.

"There you are, Sanji-kun!" she squealed innocently, making him fall into his hysteria of love, shouting in glee and hearts were flying every which way. Nami glanced over, a hint of something resembling jealousy laced in her eyes, though she wore a smile on her face. Saro smirked, and rolled her eyes, leaving the two weirdoes to find another place of silence and dismissing the idea of jealousy with Nami.

'I guess it isn't as bad as I first thought it would be,' she thought, settling down on the grassy deck. 'I'm really bored, though. Maybe I can buy a journal… and possibly a sketchbook too.' Another starving growl came from her stomach as she groaned and threw her head back to rest against the wood. Just as she had begun to settle down though, the voice of her captain sliced through the air with the words "Land Ho!"

"Come on, Saro. This isn't the time to be sleeping!" exclaimed Lin as she bent down by Saro. The hungry girl smirked as she was helped up by her friend.

"You don't whine to Zoro when _he_ sleeps," she remarked playfully, making the school girl slightly laugh. Saro stretched out her tired body as the ship neared the port and the crew prepared to dock. Luffy shot up to the main sail and pulled it up, tying it secure before jumping back to the deck. Being as clumsy as he is, he came crashing down onto Lin and Saro.

"Baka…" Saro muttered as she sat up from the dust that had arisen from the fall. Luffy and Lin were laughing as they lay on top of her, making it hard for her to breathe. "Get off of me, you bumbling idiots." They laughed again and did as told, grinning as they helped her up.

"Sorry, Saro!" said Luffy before hopping to the side of the ship to see the pier they had docked into.

"Aren't you excited, Saro?!" asked Lin who was bobbing up and down as they got off the ship. "We're going to an unknown island with the Straw Hat Pirates! Something's bound to happen! Think of what adventure might unravel!"

"If you ask me, just being here is an adventure itself. And what makes you think we're going to have a sudden adventure just because we're with them?" retorted Saro, being her pessimistic self.

"It's the straw hat pirates! Be more hopeful than that! You were always the down-to-earth one," replied the blonde. Zoro had decided to stay back and watch the ship while everyone else left. After borrowing money from Nami and escaping the clutches of her interest percent, Saro was off by herself to buy food, a journal, and a sketchbook. Luffy wanted to follow along, but Saro refused to allow him for some odd reason. She shrugged it off as she walked down the busy street, looking for a place to eat.

"There's got to be _some_ place I can eat at," said the wandering novelist. She found a food stall stationed by the side of the road she was walking, and saw an array of fruit set. She grabbed an odd looking fruit; it was shaped like an apple, but its coloration was outrageous, along with an odd looking design on it. The person manning the stand rasped from under his cloak, "Are you sure you want that one?" Saro glanced at him, surprised she hadn't seen him at first.

"I don't see why not. Looks kind of tasty," she replied, pulling up the fruit to take a bite.

"Are you sure? Even if it is a Devil's Fruit?" She stopped before her teeth sank into the fruit and pulled it away, her eyes widened in surprise. She examined the fruit again; its deep green color and swirl design. Glancing back at him, he smirked at her as she said, "Devil's fruit? You've got to be kidding me. For all I know, you could've painted an apple and called it that!"

"You say that, young girl. But, I can tell you don't believe your own words." Saro's eyes narrowed in suspicion as the man cackled, stopping to cough. "Why don't I accompany you to talk more about this?" Feeling a little strange from the question, she agreed and the two left as another man came to watch the stand. They stopped by a book shop, Saro sliding the fruit into the pocket of her capris to keep suspicion from arousing. She purchased her journal and they left the shop, the man saying, "You're still thinking about the fruit?"

"More like why you'd rather not sell it for millions of berries. Why are you just giving it to me?" she inquired as they entered an art shop. The man answered, "I never said a word of giving it to you… but it wouldn't hurt. That fruit has done nothing but cause me trouble." The two left the store after she purchased a sketchbook, and continued down the street. She pulled the fruit back out to look at it, rubbing it a few times to see if it really was painted.

"What kind of trouble?" Before he could answer, some men jumped out from the ally way, pulling out swords. Saro jumped out of the way, grabbing the man with her. She quickly slipped the fruit back into her pocket, and handed him the journal and sketchbook to hold. 'Why did I have to ask…?" she added in afterthought.

"Hand over the Devil's fruit and we might let you live," growled one of the men. Saro stood in battle stance and smirked, replying with, "I'd like to see you try and take it from me."

"Get her!" The men came all at once, pointing their swords towards her. She dashed forward, punching two of them in the face. Then, she jumped into the air and hopped over the group by jumping on their faces with her worn out sandals. She landed at the back of the group after several of them fell to the ground. What few men were left charged at her again. She kicked up a wooden pole lying in the street, grabbed it, and smacked all of them hard, sending them flying back towards their leader.

"Now!" he yelled. Confused, she paused, only to be grabbed by a man from behind.

"Oi! Let go of me!" Saro yelled, only to be answered by a snickering bandit. The first man who spoke walked up to her, pointing the blade at her face. She tried to shake free, but the man only tightened his grip.

"Now, give me the fruit!" he demanded. She spat in his face, and smirked as his expression became angrier. He pushed the blade right under her chin, a disgusting grin on his face.

"Die!" Before anything happened, the man was knocked out right in front of her. She took the chance to shake free of the shocked bandit holding her, and punched him in the face. He fell to the ground with a loud thud as she sighed, and turned back to the man, who was shocked at what had happened.

"Thanks. I would've been dead meat if you hadn't knocked him out with whatever you threw at him," she thanked, helping up the man. He shook his head and handed back the items she had him hold.

"I didn't do that," he answered, pointing behind him with his thumb, "he did." She looked behind him to find a grinning Luffy stretching back his arm. He hopped over and laughed, saying, "Sugoi! I didn't know you could fight!" She slightly smiled back, dusting herself off after their encounter.

"I heard them talking about a Devil's fruit. Is that what's in your pocket?" he asked, pointing at the pocket holding the fruit. She pulled it out, showing it undamaged, and nodded. The man who had given it to her commented, "So you do believe it's a devil's fruit now? Well, just so you know, it's the Neko Neko fruit. It'll give you cat-like qualities to add to your physical strength."

"What's this one, though?" she asked, pulling out a different fruit from another pocket. This one was a rosy color with swirl markings. The man sputtered before asking, "When did you get that one?!"

"When you weren't looking, of course." Luffy burst into slight laughter, adding, "You're a thief too?!" The man got back to his senses and calmed himself down.

"It doesn't matter. Those fruit have been nothing but trouble to me. That one, I believe, is the Mizu Mizu fruit. It's a Logia type, so it allows the user to become and control water." Luffy whooped in interest and amazement while the man in the cloak left. Saro turned towards the departing person and yelled after him, "Thanks anyway! But, what's your name?"

"Just call me a friend for now! I'm sure we'll meet up again!" he yelled back, disappearing into the crowds. Saro tilted her head slightly in confusion, but quickly stopped thinking about it as soon as her stomach gave another growl.

"Aw man… I still didn't get anything to eat…" she groaned, grasping at her stomach as Luffy laughed again, uncontrollably. She punched him in the face with glaring eyes and left him on the ground as she began leaving. "Baka…"

* * *

**Sooo?? What'd you think?? There's probably tons of grammar mistakes and spelling, but I still hope you enjoyed it. I'm also working on making the chapters longer, if you noticed in this one. Please review! **


	10. New Powers?

**Chapter 10 here at last! I hope everyone likes the new title and summary I chose. After much editing, grammar and spelling wise, it's finally done and posted for your enjoyment.

* * *

**

**Chapter 10**

"Ne… Saro, you didn't have to hit me…" he whined as he followed her into a noodle shop, rubbing his sore face. She just ignored his whining and ordered a bowl for the both of them. He sat down in front of her as she pulled up her feet to look at her sandals' condition. She held it out by the band that was stung into the sandal base, and it just fell apart.

"Jeez… there goes my only footwear," she sighed as she tossed it to the ground, leaning on her head in the palm of her hand with her elbow on the table. Luffy sat with a blank expression on his face as she grumbled about how much more money she'd need to get a new pair.

"Why don't you wear shoes like Nami and Robin?" he inquired, tilting his head to the side. She scoffed and looked at him as if he was crazy to ask that kind of question.

"You've no idea what it's like to walk in those shoes. They're hell on my feet, so I just wear sandals." Luffy snickered at her answer and went on to ask another one.

"So, what are you going to do about those Devil's fruit?" he asked, leaning forward in curiosity. Saro rolled her eyes upward in thought and rested her chin in between her index finger and thumb as well. She shrugged her shoulders as the bowls of noodles were served at their table. After being so hungry for a while, she finished off her bowl before Luffy and sat back in her chair, full and thinking about the Devil's fruit.

'I was going to eat one and give the other one to Lin, but now that I think about it, we could sell it for a lot of money.' Luffy's voice calling for seconds alarmed Saro that it was time to go. She grabbed the two broken sandals, journal, and sketchbook, and the both of them left the shop. She walked barefoot down the dirt road while Luffy noticed what she had bought.

"A journal? Do you like to write or something?" he asked, scratching the hair under his yellow straw hat. She nodded, thinking she had already told him her career.

"I'm a writer in the other world, but I'm not doing very well at the least bit," she answered.

"You don't have to worry about that anymore. You're my nakama now, so you're staying with me!" he added gleefully. Saro faintly smiled as he grinned brightly back. "What about the sketchbook?"

"When I had free time from my books, I'd draw. Just a hobby I enjoy doing," she replied. Spotting a trash can, she walked over to it and tossed the sandals in. When she took another step, she felt something sharp scratch against her foot and she yelped out in pain. Leaning against a wooden support, she looked at the bottom of her foot to find a huge scratch. "Damn it…"

She walked back over to Luffy, trying not to walk on her left foot. He noticed her limping and asked her what had happened.

"Oh, nothing. Just cut my foot." Luffy grabbed her ankle and lifted up her foot to see, nearly knocking Saro to the ground in exasperation. His eyes widened at the large scratch, and swiped her up into his arms. "Luffy! Just put me down. I'm fine. You don't have to carry me." But, he just shook his head and protested.

"You're hurt. I'm not going to let you walk on your wound," he explained bluntly, even though Saro already understood why he was holding her in the first place. He walked down the street with her in his arms, people pointing and whispering as they walked by. Saro covered her face and groaned, making Luffy wonder what was wrong. All he was doing was helping out a friend. He shrugged his shoulders, and ran the rest of the way back to the ship, meeting up with the others.

"Saro!" called Lin as she ran over after noticing there was blood dripping from her foot. Luffy walked past her and told Chopper what had happened.

"Let's get on the ship so I can bandage it up," he said as everyone began boarding the ship. Luffy, still refusing to put her down, jumped up onto the deck, went into the men's cabin, and placed her on one of the beds. Chopper walked in with his backpack full of medical stuff in it. He also brought in a bowl of water with a clean rag in it.

"It'll sting a lot, so please try to bare with it," he warned. Saro nodded as he lifted her foot and began cleaning her foot of the dust and blood, making her wince. She clutched onto the bed as he tried to clean deeper.

"Chopper, you're hurting her!" said Luffy, only to be stopped by Saro saying she was alright. After the wound was clean, he got out a bacteria cleaning liquid and dabbed some of it onto the wound. Saro let out a yelp of pain from the unexpected touch, but just grit her teeth. Chopper finally finished up with the bandaging and the three of them left.

"Saro, are you alright? What happened?" asked Lin again after putting away the last of her shopping bags. Saro waved it off and took a seat on the edge of the stairs leading up to the back of the ship.

"I just cut myself. Nothing new… but there is something else that _is_ new…" she said, pulling out the two Devil's fruit from her pocket. Nami popped up in front of her, causing her to sweat drop and accidentally hit her foot against the lawn. Nami grinned widely, beli signs in her eyes.

"Devil's fruit? Why not sell them for so much profit?" she asked, only to receive a "no".

"I'm going to have Lin and I eat one," she said, Lin walking over and taking a seat next to her. "Which do you want: Mizu Mizu, or Neko Neko?"

"I don't like cats, so I'll take this one," she answered, grabbing the water fruit instead. The crew gathered around, Luffy trying to stop Nami from beating the two of them, as they held the fruit in front of them. They glanced at each other, nodded, and both took a bite out of their fruit, finishing it off as well. Their faces contorted from the foul taste, but they recovered quickly.

"So? Do you feel any different?" asked Luffy, who was on the floor being stepped on by Nami. Lin held up a hand, turning it this way and that, not noticing any difference. Saro did the same to find out the same thing.

"How's it suppose to work?" asked Lin as Saro stood up to walk around.

"Usually it works just after consuming it," explained Robin. "Right? Doctor-san, Captain-san?" The two nodded while the two girls tried to figure out how to summon their new found powers.

"How does a Zoan type summon one's power?" muttered Saro as she thought again. She closed her eyes and concentrated on what she wanted to transform into, and began feeling a strange sensation. Her body shifted and formed into what she had imagined. She opened her eyes to find herself in her half animal form. She looked at her hand again, to find it slender and claws at the end of it. A tail snuck around her and a pair of ears twitched at the top of her head.

"Saro-chwan! You're such a kawaii kitty!" swooned Sanji with his hands clasped together, held under his chin. Saro immediately reverted back to her original form and staggered back a little.

"I want to try now! Saro, what did you do?" asked Lin, excited about what would happen to her. Saro, a little dizzy and overwhelmed from the transformation, replied, "Just concentrate on your power and it'll happen." Determined, Lin nodded and closed her eyes to try and transform into water. She, too, felt that odd sensation and opened her eyes to see that her hand had turned into water.

"Waa! I did it!" she exclaimed, showing her see-through hand to everyone. Luffy gazed at it, and poked a finger through, tickling her. And just like that, her hand turned back to normal, almost catching Luffy's finger in her skin. Saro staggered a bit, holding a hand to her forehead, seeing her own vision blur.

'What the hell is going on?' she thought as she felt like her head was spinning.

"Oi, Saro. You alright?" asked Zoro, after noticing her stagger around the ship. The novelist couldn't respond, instead, fell to her knees trembling. "Saro! Saro!" called Zoro again, grabbing onto her shoulders.

"I'm…I'm alright…" she panted as her vision was now almost gone. Her breathing was very heavy at this point as her body couldn't take whatever unknown pressure was on her. All she saw was black as she completely collapsed.

* * *

**BUWAHAHHA!!! A Cliffie! I just loe these things, when I read it and when i write it! XDDD Don't hurt me now, or else I can't update. I won't update if you don't review either! XDD -proceeds to hide behind dumpster from people who hate cliffies- **


	11. New Powers? Pt 2

**Heeee heeee... XD I hope you guys like the cliffie over in the last chapter. I know you guys just love me for that. XD But, just know I never leave them unanswered. Well, here's chapter 11, at long last. I probably won't update anything tomorrow or most of the week because of school and all. No more of my problems, here it is!

* * *

**

Chapter 11

"Saro! Saro!" The words echoed in her mind as the pitch black darkness surrounded her. It called again, and she looked around when she saw a light. A luminous light when the voice called yet again, this time it sounded a lot louder. To her, it sounded oddly familiar as she neared the light. She reached out a hand, another one accepting it while the owner wore a smile on his face.

She opened her eyes to find herself in the women's cabin. Luffy was right beside her as well as Lin on the other side.

"Saro!" cried Lin as she leapt in to hug her waking friend. "Thank goodness you woke up! You had me so worried!" Saro was still dazed, blinking tiredly.

'Who was that guy… the one in the light…' she thought before Luffy laughed and asked her how she felt.

"What happened?" she groaned, still tired when she noticed most of the crew was in the room with her.

"You don't remember?" asked Luffy, sitting forward on his chair. Saro shook her head. "You fell down and Zoro caught you. He yelled out to us and when we came over, you were asleep. We tried to wake you up, but you wouldn't budge." Saro glanced around the room until she saw Zoro sitting nearby.

"You better just rest yourself. You've got nakama worried about you," he grunted.

"Thanks for helping me before, Zoro-san," she said with a smile afterwards. He blushed and looked the other way, adding, "It was nothing. No need for thanks." Saro slightly laughed while Lin left to tell Chopper Saro had woken up.

"Zoro, are you embarrassed for helping a _girl_?" asked Luffy playfully, earning him a glare from an annoyed swordsman. Luffy began laughing his head off, enraging the swordsman even more.

"That's it!" He lunged at the laughing captain, missing. Zoro chased him around the room, even pulling out two of his swords to teach the boy a lesson. Nami, Chopper and Lin walked in the room, Nami punching the two in the head while Chopper went over to Saro with Lin.

"You two are a pain! Can't you even be quiet when someone needs rest?!" exclaimed Nami. Chopper checked Saro's heartbeat, blood pressure, and other vital signs to make sure she wouldn't collapse like before. Lin watched carefully, threatening Chopper if he messed up, she'd drown him.

"Ne, Chopper. Why do you think Saro just fell like that after eating the fruit?" inquired Lin.

"Everyone is different, so all reactions to something will be different, maybe because she tried transforming right after consuming the fruit. But, we can't just narrow it to only the Devil's fruit," explained Chopper while Lin listened carefully. His and everyone else's voice faded away to Saro's ears as she replayed the part of her dream when she saw the man smile.

'Just who was that guy and why does he show up in a dream?' she thought, trying to focus on the image. But, instead, a Luffy popped up in front of her, pulling her back to reality.

"What are you doing?" he asked, sitting down at the edge of the bed. Saro shook her head, and pulled off the blanket of the bed.

"It was nothing. I think I'll go take a bath now," she answered, making her way to the bathroom.

"Saro, I'm not finished with the check up. I still have to look at the scar!" called Chopper. Saro paused at the door and answered, "I'm fine. As long as I can walk and breathe, I'm as fine as a spring day." She closed the door while everyone, except Nami, left the room.

"Nami, what are you doing?" asked Luffy, halfway up the stairs.

"I'll stay here just in case she needs any help," answered Nami sweetly. Luffy nodded and bounded the rest of the way up, closing the door behind him. Nami turned back to the restroom door, hearing the tap water turn on and Saro sitting into it.

'I'm going to find out what it is that makes you the way you are. Then, you'll be off this ship as fast as you can say "Bon Voyage",' thought Nami sinisterly. She had had a bad feeling about Saro ever since she joined. And her eating the Neko Neko fruit only helped to make it worse. It was as if something was being plotted. First, Luffy disappears and then come back with a strange girl. After that, she eats a Devil's fruit. Not to mention, she can fight a group of bandits all on her own. It just doesn't add up.

"Ne, ne, Saro-chan. Would you mind if we got to know each other better, now?" called Nami from the outside. Saro, caught off-guard by the sudden voice, shifted in the water a bit.

"Umm… why now? Can't we talk another time?" she asked, trying not to sound resentful. She heard Nami get up and walk towards the door, and then take a seat at the wall beside it.

"Well, no one else is here to listen, and I just want to get to know you better," answered Nami.

'She's definitely up to something…' thought Saro as she noticed how persistent Nami was getting.

"Another time. Why not talk to Lin? She's a new crewmember as well," answered Saro, hoping this would get her off her back. Nami narrowed her eyes, thinking, 'She's a smart one. Well, looks like I'll have to try harder next time.'

"I see. I'll talk to you another time," she answered, getting up and making her way up the stairs. "I just think… that we have the most in common." Saro's eyes narrowed as she couldn't think of a response to it that wouldn't bring up anything Nami would find suspicious. She had already gone through some weird reaction with the fruit, so her mind was tired. Nami slyly smirked and left, closing the door quietly.

'That woman gives me the chills,' thought Saro as she bobbed her head underwater. 'I'll worry about it another day.'

**OoOoO Out on Deck OoOoO**

Luffy was entertaining his friends, Usopp and chopper, with imitations of everyone on the crew. Their laughter reached every part of the ship, annoying a sleeping Zoro. Sanji didn't mind much since he was just making dessert snacks for the women. As long as they didn't keep him from making it, he'd be as calm as a breeze. Robin was, not surprisingly, reading another book in her lounge chair with a drink by her side. Nami walked over to Luffy in the middle of a Nami-impression and hit him in the back of the head.

"Nami, it was just a joke! A joke!" he whined, rubbing the bump he now had on his head.

"It wasn't funny, so it's not a joke. Anyways, I want to ask you something in private," she explained, glaring at the other two so they'd run off somewhere else. Luffy got up and dusted himself off.

"What is it?" he asked, putting his hat on.

"Why did you let Lin and Saro join the crew?" she asked. Luffy put his chin in his hand to think. Then, he tapped a fist in his open palm in remembrance.

"When I first met them, they were really funny people so I wanted them to join the crew as entertainers!" he laughed.

"THAT WAS IT?!" exclaimed Nami, gritting her teeth. Luffy shook his head and continued, "But they didn't want to be entertainers. But, I knew that no matter what, they _had_ to join the crew." Nami punched his head and sighed.

"What the hell was that for?!" he yelled, rubbing his aching head again.

"You have no reasoning," she explained, "and I just felt like hitting you."

"But," he added, "that's not the only reason. When I saw her, she wasn't very happy where she was. And every time I'm with her, I get the feeling of an adventure!" Nami looked at his eyes while he smiled to himself. Just then, Saro walked out of the women's cabin, rubbing her head dry with a towel. Luffy grinned at her and she subtly smiled back, leaving to find Lin.

'Adventure?' thought Nami. 'Wait, who's "her"?' Before she could ask, he bounded off towards Saro to help her find Lin. 'Never mind. It's as clear as day who it is.'

* * *

**Do _you _know who it is? XD Nami is right, it is clear as day, hopefully. Well, please click that little purple button and submit a review. I'd really like it. Also, notice there's no cliffie! XDD **


	12. Dreams

**Sorry for taking so long. I have to work on a science project this weekend and I almost forgot that this was here. I have written most of chapter 13 already, but sadly have been hit with some writer's block. ::sad:: So, I might update some tomorrow though it's not likely. So, enjoy this chapter! **

* * *

**Chapter 12**

It was night time on the ship now. The stars were sparkling and the moon was glimmering in the ocean waters. Dinner was just now over and everyone on the ship was enjoying their own separate activity as the night went on. Lin sat on the ropes tied to the Crow's Nest to stargaze, one of her favorite things to do back in the real world. Sanji was cleaning up in the kitchen as usual, Nami hanging out in there, talking to him. Usopp and Chopper decided to go to bed early after the filling dinner, and Robin returned to the women's room to read. Zoro was sleeping soundly against the mast with his swords in his lap.

'What a beautiful night. I don't think I've ever seen one like this before,' thought a tired Saro as she sketched in her sketchbook. She was sitting in the Crow's Nest, rather large for one though, and resting against the mast's top. Her journal was right beside her as well; open to an empty page for no reason as she continued to move her pencil across the paper in delicate strokes. She stood up for a moment, and tucked her hair over her ear, sighing in content. She placed the book back on the wood and leaned against the edge, gazing at the waves.

"Saro!" yelled a voice from down below deck. Lin turned around as she saw a hand stretch all the way up to the edge. She grinned and went back to the stars while Sanji came out on deck with Nami. Saro stood back from the edge while a rambunctious and happy Luffy shot up towards her. He landed on his feet on the wood without hitting anything or anyone, somewhat surprising Saro.

"What is it Luffy?" she asked, leaning back against the edge.

"Nothing, just wanted to check up on you," he happily answered, grinning. Saro blushed a little, but it quickly went away, knowing it was just his friendship feelings for nakama. He looked down at the open sketchbook and gawked at the ocean scene Saro had drawn. "Wow! This is awesome!" he noted, looking at it.

"It's nothing. Just something I do in my spare time," she answered, closing up the journal and putting it back down. Luffy looked up from the picture and asked excitedly, "Can I have this if you finish it?"

"Sure," she answered, looking at it herself. It was a lone ship sailing on calm waters while the day was ending. There was only one person aboard the ship, all alone, but she had a smile on her face anyway. Saro didn't know why she drew that, but it felt right to her. She took the sketchbook and closed it, putting it away.

"You should be an artist! You're really good at it!" he remarked, although he already implied it a while ago. She shrugged her shoulders, once again leaning against the edge, this time Luffy joining her. She felt uncomfortable with him so close to her, fidgeting a little. He looked over at her and stood away a little, sensing her uncomforting movements.

"Sorry," he said, smiling like always.

"Ah… it's ok. I'm… I'm just not that used to people being so close to me," she embarrassedly said.

"Isn't Lin close to you all the time?" he asked, titling his head. Saro blushed slightly again and rubbed the back of her head nervously, chuckling. He laughed and stood by her again. He looked at her a little, trying to think how different she looked from before until he noticed she had tucked her hair. Saro noticed his staring eyes, and turned away shyly.

"Saro… what do you want to do in your life?" he asked randomly. She looked at him, and thought a moment. After a long pause, she said, "I… honestly don't know. I've never really thought about it." Luffy glanced at her weird, one eyebrow raised and mouth twisted a bit.

"Come on. There's got to be _something_ you really want to do," he replied.

"What's all this about?" she retorted, looking at him. He shook his head as if she never understood anything at all.

"I'm going to be the pirate king, and as captain of this crew, I have to help everyone achieve their dream! Everyone has one!" he answered. Saro chuckled and nodded, but still saying, "I see. But, I still don't have a dream _yet_. You'll be the first to know when I find it." Luffy nodded and grinned, suddenly stopping to look out at the ocean.

"What is it?" she asked, looking out as well.

"I don't know. I thought I heard something… or someone," he answered dazedly.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

"Sanji-kun, I think I'll go off to bed now," said Nami by the door to the women's bedroom. Sanji smiled and bid her good night, naturally reciting some poetic sap before she left. Zoro cracked open an eye to see Nami's face disappear from the door, and just went back to sleep, grumbling about why Sanji always woke him up. The love sick cook looked around the ship and noticed Lin still lying back against the ropes, watching the stars light up. He sauntered over and climbed up the ropes himself, smiling as Lin looked down at him.

"Hi, Sanji!" she greeted as he settled down next to her.

"Hello, my dear angel Lin," he said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. She giggled and snuggled in next to him, not minding one bit that he was enjoying this more than she was.

"Sanji, what's your life-long dream?" she asked, already knowing the answer. Sanji smiled to himself and answered, "To find All Blue! Have you heard of it?" Lin shook her head in a lie, but she wanted to hear how excited he sounded. She listened contently as he spoke of what he believed.

"A lot of people laugh at me when they hear that, but it's my dream and I'm going to prove them all wrong!" he said with determination. "What about you, Lin-chan?"

"To have the greatest adventure of my life before my time is up! It sounds simple, but… it's something I've always wanted," she answered, earning a Sanji smiling at her. The two laughed a bit when Sanji, like Luffy, stopped abruptly. "Sanji?" she asked, all of a sudden feeling extremely tired.

"I thought I heard… something… that's…" Before he could finish he was fast asleep, along with Lin beside him.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

Saro's eyes drooped with tiredness as she sat back against the mast again, where Luffy was already groggily sitting. He had fallen back from sleepiness after noticing whatever he heard. Saro was about to say something before she, too, had fallen back.

'Why… are my eyes so tired all of a sudden?' she thought as her eyes were barely open. Her head fell to the side, resting against Luffy's shoulder. His head fell over as well, gently against Saro's, as he began lightly snoring. Before her eyes closed for good, she caught a glimpse of a man that was completely blue, like water. Then, she drifted off into sleep while the whole ship became silent.

* * *

**Well??? Cliffie! XDD I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I thought it was a little weird, but the character themselves are too. I smell the beginning of an adventure brewing! -hint, hint- Well, I hope you liked it and please review!**

**  
Also, just a note. If you enjoy this story, you might like reading "Battle of Romance" if not already. It has my two OC characters, Lin and Saro, in it so i thought i'd "advertise" a bit. XD Well, see you guys later! **** -goes to work on chapter 13 and the other stories-**


	13. Love? What?

**Back with chapter 13! I hope you guys enjoyed the last one, and its cliffie. -evil laugh- But here, the quiesiton you have all been wondering will be answered. I think a lot of conclusions will be jumped to after reading only some of the chapter, but that's only natural. Just keep from going into freak-out mode. You'll understand once you start reading. So, enjoy the chapter! And again, I might not update again till the end of the week due to school.

* * *

**

Chapter 13

Saro was in complete darkness again, standing by herself. She couldn't even tell whether or not she was dreaming. It was so dark that she couldn't even see her own hand in front of her. Looking around, she suddenly heard a voice calling her name, just like last time.

"Saro! Saro!" it called over and over again. Again, the black haired girl turned to see a light in the darkness. The voice called again, exactly like the first time, it sounded louder when she faced the light. Hesitantly at first, she took a step towards it, and then another and another. Soon, her gait was normal and she reached a hand out to the light.

"What took you so long?" asked the voice, belonging to that mysterious man. He sounded very familiar to Saro for some reason. He pulled her up and out of the darkness, into a lighted place where she could see everything. Everything, but the mystery man's face.

"Who… who are you?" she stuttered, both hands in the man's assuring grip. For some reason, Saro felt safe and sure of herself in his hands, even though he was a complete stranger. He laughed, even that sounding familiar, and grinned at her, or at least she thought so.

"I'm…" he said, but the name was scrambled out as if someone didn't want her to know. She bunched her eyebrows worriedly as his grip loosened, and she frantically gripped back. He grinned at her again, leaning in to give her a kiss on the cheek. "Don't worry, you already know who I am." Saro looked hard again before he disappeared into the light, but still couldn't make him out.

"Don't go…" she whispered as the light faded away with him. Her echo was the only thing that greeted her as the darkness came back.

Slowly, she opened her eyes, realizing it was only a dream again. She was greeted by dim light filling into the Crow's Nest. She stretched out her bare feet, sliding it lightly against the wood planks to keep from getting splinters. She looked over her shoulder and found that Luffy had rolled off the other way and sleeping soundly on the wood. The writer stood up and stretched her body out, looking out at the dawning sky. She picked up her journal and sketchbook, and began climbing back to deck quietly so she wouldn't awaken her captain.

'That dream… it was so real and the voice was so familiar. And it was the same voice, I'm sure of it,' she thought as she continued down the long way back to the deck. When she had reached about halfway, she noticed the air was more humid than in the Crow's Nest.

'That's quite odd … so many weird things happen along with weird people,' she thought, smirking to herself. She landed back on deck with a thud, and looked around. Zoro was still snoring by the mast, and she saw Sanji lying with Lin in his arms. She sharply sighed, and continued to the kitchen. Her stomach grumbled and she looked around for some food.

"Well, since I'm already in here, I might as well make something for myself," she said to herself, placing the two books on the table. She grabbed a couple of ingredients and lit the stove top.

"Let's see… what to eat…" she muttered. Saro decided to make some hard boiled eggs, instant ramen that she somehow found, and a loaf of bread. She filled a pot with water and placed it gently over the burning stovetop. Then she grabbed a smaller one and did the same over another stovetop. She grabbed three eggs and placed them into the bigger pot before it boiled, and placed the contents of the instant ramen into the water of the other one. Finally, she placed the fresh loaf of bread into the oven for just a short while.

"Now, I've got to find two bowls and a plate…" she said again, beginning her search while keeping in mind the boiling water. With all the fuss she was going through, she hadn't even noticed the kitchen door open, or the person who had opened it. She was able to find two bowls and went on her way to find a plate, still not aware of the person who had entered.

"Here we are," she said finally, placing it back on the counter. The person who had come in silently lifted up their arms and came closer towards her, quietly making each step. Saro checked the flames of the stovetop one last time… right when the person up and clutched onto her, and definitely had no intention of letting go.

"What the hell?!" she exclaimed, finding herself restrained and lifted up into the air. Surprisingly, her ears and tail from her powers popped up. The perpetrator laughed a bit and laughed out, "Got you, Saro!" She, with some difficulty, turned her head around to find that it was Luffy and his rubbery arms that were grabbing her. Right then on her discovery, she proceeded to turning a pinkish color.

"What are you doing?!" she exclaimed again, struggling to get out of his grasp. He laughed again and nuzzled his face into her shirt, sending an odd tingle up Saro's spine.

"Hugging you, silly Saro!" he laughed again.

"Let go of me!" she demanded, stopping to struggle due to her lack of air.

"Not till you say the magic word!" She narrowed her eyes, annoyed with his antics, and sighed, or at least tried.

"Please?" she said, not knowing what else to say. He nodded and let go of her, where she promptly fell into the edge of the counter, sucking in as much air as her body would allow while she held herself up against the counter. The boy laughed and hugged her again, normally, and nuzzled his head against hers. She blushed to an extreme and slowly stood up, gently pushing him off.

"Why'd you do that?" she asked again calmly, trying to hide her blushing. Her ears narrowed a bit, and her tail swished back and forth. Luffy grinned at her, only confusing her even more, and answered, "'Cause I love you, silly Saro!" Saro's eye widened as she felt a mass of blood rushing to her face.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

Nami awoke from the yelling in the kitchen and rubbed her tired eyes. She sat up in her bed and found Robin asleep by the desk with a book underneath her.

'Up reading again, huh?' she thought, though wasn't surprised. The navigator got up from bed, placed a jacket over the archeologist's shoulders, and proceeded out of the women's cabin after going through her morning clean up routine. She was greeted by slight sunshine and a fresh breeze. 'A good day today…' she thought… until she noticed Sanji and Lin sleeping together on the ropes.

'That Sanji…' she grumpily thought, moving towards the lower level of the deck. She walked through the grassy lawn and inspected her mikan trees for any damage, or ripe oranges. She spotted an exceptionally ripe one and looked at it with some interest, for it was larger than any ripe orange she had ever seen.

"That's very unusual, yet remarkable. I feel kind of bad to have to pick it," she said to herself and, like Saro, didn't notice the footsteps behind her. It was pretty deep in the tree, so she stuck her hand in, struggling to reach it. Suddenly, a hand wrapped around her waist and the other reach into the tree with her and grabbed the orange, placing it into her hands.

"Alright Sanji, that's enough," she said, excepting it to be the gentleman and back away. But… the presence didn't leave. Instead, the owner of the hands guided her out and wrapped his arms around her, giving her a slow hug. She looked down and saw the noticeably tan and muscular arms this person had.

"Morning," they said in their husky, heartfelt though, and rested their head against hers. She shook away and stared at the one who had hugged her.

"Zoro?!" she almost screamed, only controlling herself to not wake everyone else. He blinked and nodded, somewhat smiling at her. She felt that sensation of warmness in her face, or that could've been the possible blood rushing to her cheeks. Blushing, she held the mikan in her hands and managed to ask, "What… what was that?"

"A hug," he answered, walking towards her to give her another one. She backed away, receiving a sort of… hurt reaction in Zoro's eyes, though it showed in no other way. She felt some pity at once and stopped, asking again, "But… but why, though…?" Zoro smiled again, something that Nami wasn't used to.

"I love you, that's why," he answered simply as if it was the easiest thing to say in the world. Nami's jaw slightly dropped, and her heart pulse quickened.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

Lin moved her head out a little to see the blaze of light shining on her. Some voices behind her were fading away somewhere when she opened her eyes.

'Probably Zoro and Nami arguing about something,' she thought, pushing herself off of the ropes. The cook was still fast asleep, one arm over Lin. She gently placed it onto the ropes and brightly smiled at him. After watching him sleep for a few minutes, she climbed down the ropes, being careful not to shake it much. The young girl stretched, groaning tiredly as she did, and noticed the smell of ramen in the air.

"Ramen? Here? I didn't know they knew what ramen was," she said, forgetting about it to go look at the fish pond situated by the center of the ship. She kneeled down on her knees and bent over towards the edge. She peered in and noticed the fish the crew had caught.

'Hmm… maybe I can try and use my powers again!' Lin thought excitedly. She concentrated deeply for a moment, closing her eyes. When she reopened them, her hand had transformed into water again. "Paramecia types can control their element… maybe I can control this water," she reasoned, concentrating on the pond water. Slowly, the water rose up and floated around in the air for a moment. Amused by this, she lost her concentration and the water fell back with a splash.

"Oops…" she said, finding herself all wet and looking back to make sure she didn't wake Sanji up. The blonde man was still sleeping. She sighed in relief and turned her attention to her wet clothes. An idea sparked and she pointed her hand towards her clothes, concentrating. Slowly, the water parted from her clothes and floated back into the pond. Lin ran her other hand through her clothes.

'All nice and dry,' she thought, smiling. She stood up and dusted herself off, stretching afterwards. Suddenly, she was grabbed by the waist and pulled back into a hug. The unknown person held her tightly and then released his grip, resting his head on her shoulder. Lin blushed with a blank face, and turned to find a certain blonde headed, love sick cook hugging her.

"Morning, Lin-chan," he greeted, smiling. She smiled back and turned around to hug him back.

"What was the hug for?" she asked, not that she cared that he did. She playfully stood on her tip toes and rested her forehead against his.

"Nothing. I just love you with all my heart, Lin-chan," he answered in his smooth voice. Lin blushed red and stood back a little, her heart pounding after those words. But along with that pounding, she couldn't help but think she heard, 'This can't be happening…' from other voices.

* * *

**Notice how long it was! And another cliffie! And the most obvious thing that i refuse to say! Before you go into fangirl mode, I want you to calm down and not jump to conclusions. It _is _the beginning of a new adventure... so... yeah. Calm down and _then _review. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please review! Thank you! See you later!**


	14. Love? What? Pt 2

**-tired yawn- Hi everybody! I hope you all liked last chapter! -snicker- I'm glad there were no freak outs. Well, I'm really tired right now for some reason, but I could not stop thinking about this story, so i had to write this chapter. It isn't really the _best _I can do, in my opinion, but I still like it. This chapter's just clearing up everything that happened in the last chapter, so it's a kind of... explanatory chapter. Like the piecing together of the clues. XD Well anyway, enjoy! **

**Key (For those who have forgotten or do/did not know):**

**" " - Dialogue**

**' ' - Thoughts**

**OoOoOoO - Scene change**

* * *

**Chapter 14**

There was utter silence between them and about the ship. Lin was affixed in an odd position between emotions: Happy, surprised, confused, and glad. After some time, Sanji asked, "Is there something wrong, Lin-chan?" The school girl shook her head and brought her hands up in front of her chest and placed them together above her heart as if she as heartsick.

"What d-d-did you just s-say to me?" she stuttered shyly, her head looking down a little like a scared little girl. But, she felt like she couldn't look him in the eyes for some reason. The cook laughed, and placed his hands gently on her shoulders. She looked up hesitantly, blushing.

"I said I love you," he calmly answered, smiling his warming smile. Lin's heart skipped a beat and she squealed on the inside. Her body trembled with excitement and she rushed forward to hug him. She rubbed her head against him like a puppy would against its master's palm. This was a dream come true for her!

"Sanji-kun!" she said happily. "Let's go inside and have some breakfast now!" The blond girl grabbed his hand and began pulling him in with excitement, but Sanji stood still in protest. Lin looked back, seeing his soft, loving expression. He gently pulled her back towards him and added, "Let's stay out here a little longer. I don' want to share this radiant beauty of yours with anyone else." He smiled playfully and she blushed, grinning and joining him; the two hand in hand.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

Nami shut the door to the navigation room and sat down when Zoro opened is back up. She glanced at his unusually happy face and stood up to pace around. He quietly came in, but left the door ajar. She was gripping at her red hair, trying to figure out what the hell happened.

"Stop," he said, gently loosening the grip she had on her strands of hair. "You don't want to ruin that pretty hair of yours." Nami blushed, but quickly pushed him away, pacing again. Zoro didn't seem to mind her distant attitude much though.

'What the hell is wrong with Zoro?! Is he drunk?!' she exclaimed in thought. She turned back to him, the swordsman taking a seat. "Zoro!" she said aloud. "Answer me a few questions, and you had better answer them truthfully, got it?" she asked in her usual threatening tone.

"Sure, I'll do whatever you want," he replied in a love dazed tone. Nami trembled a little, but she just ignored it.

"Why are you acting the way you are?" she began. Zoro chuckled and smiled at her.

"I already told you. It's because I love you."

'This is getting me no where…' she thought, rubbing her forehead. "When did you start having these… feelings for me?" He was hesitant before answering, but he was just thinking.

"I don't know. I've always felt like this," he answered. Nami was getting frustrated and banged a fist on her map table. Zoro gently grabbed her wrist and ran the other hand across her hair. "Calm down. Let's just have some breakfast first," he suggested. To tired to resist, she agreed and followed, not caring that his hand was still holding her wrist. It was surprising to her how gently he could be.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

Saro sat up straight in her chair and her eyes were lightly closed. A steaming bowl of ramen was set in front of her, beside that was a smaller bowl of hard boiled eggs and on the other side a loaf of bread. But she hadn't touched any of it once since she placed it on the table. She opened her eyes and saw a smiling face looking at her.

'How can I eat when he's…observing me like that?' she thought. But, that was the least of her problems. Most definitely the least. She needed to figure out what in the world happened to Luffy. They sat in silence a while longer; the both of them just watching each other.

"Um…" she started, Luffy sitting up in attention. But before anything was said, the kitchen door opened and Zoro, along with Nami, came in. Saro raised an eyebrow slightly when she noticed Zoro holding her wrist. Nami glared at her and Saro just looked away like she hadn't thought anything about it, but it was still there.

"Good morning, Nami, Zoro," she greeted. Zoro returned the greeting while Nami simply sighed sharply. "Would you care for some breakfast?" she asked, holding out her hand to indicate the ramen. Nami shrugged her shoulders and nodded, Saro standing up from her seat to allow her to eat.

"Thanks," she grumbled, Saro sensing something bothering her. Zoro sat beside her while Saro decided to go clean herself up.

"I'll be back in a little while," she said at the door. Luffy stood up and bounded over to follow her. Nami observed with interest, thinking the same as Saro did. The two left and Saro noticed Sanji and Lin talking to each other. She watched them out of the corner of her eye thinking, 'I wonder…' She stopped Luffy at the bathroom door, and went in, locking the door behind her. She turned the tap water and looked into the mirror.

"I wonder how long this'll last. This… dream…" she whispered. The writer shook her head. 'What am I talking about? I must be tired…' She dipped her hands into the cool water, cupped them, and splashed her face.

After completing her morning routine, she came back out of the bathroom feeling awake and refreshed. Luffy smiled up at her from his sitting position. He had been sitting there the entire time. Saro narrowed her eyes a bit, feeling a little disgusted. Sanji and Lin were on the upper level of the deck and were hand in hand, standing right in Saro's view.

'Don't you dare…' she thought. Sanji smiled and began leaning in, Lin closing her eyes to accept the coming kiss. Suddenly, the cook was being knocked quite intensely in the face, sending him flying at the side of the ship.

"Saro! Why'd you do that?!" exclaimed the surprised school girl. She turned her head, her glaring eyes still set.

"No one's going to be kissing you under my watch. I already told you that so long ago…" she answered while lowering her fist. Luffy ran over and tried to help the pulverized Sanji. Lin faintly smiled and nodded. "Sanji! You ever try that again, you'll be dead meat!" yelled Saro. There was a groan and she took that as an "Ok". Usopp and Chopper emerged from the men's cabin, Robin from the women's.

"What's all the commotion?" yawned Usopp. He yelped at the sight of a beaten Sanji and scurried quickly into the kitchen with Chopper. Robin came out of the room civilized and greeted them with "good morning". She, too, was curious as to what had happened though.

"Nothing at all… he'll be fine after Chopper takes a look at him…" said Saro, waving it off. All five of them went into the kitchen while Usopp and Chopper were stopped in a surprised state. Robin, though not as bluntly as the other two, was also surprised. Zoro had given a kiss to Nami on the cheek, the both of them blushing red. Luffy looked at them, remembered the kiss Sanji had _tried _to give, and clung onto Saro, delivering his own onto her cheek.

"Luffy, let go!" she said, struggling and blushing. He gently pulled off and smiled at her, but he still had his arms wrapped around her. Sanji stole this chance to give a delicate kiss to Lin's cheek as well. "Hey! Who said you could-"

"Come on Saro! Quit being so tightly wound!" remarked Luffy. "Let them do what they want. It's only Sanji!" Saro gave up on getting out of his grip and thought, 'It's the very thought that it _is _him that worries me…' Usopp, quite confused, exclaimed, "Could someone please tell me what's going on?!"

'Gladly. If I actually knew, but there is a hunch…' thought Saro as she tried again to push Luffy off.

After a little struggling and recuperation, Saro was freed and everyone was finally settling down. The novelist placed her chin in her finger and thumb to think. She observed the group, especially four of them: Nami, Zoro, Lin, and Sanji.

"Alright, I think I've come to an obvious conclusion. Apparently, Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji have suddenly "fallen in love" with three of us, "us" being Lin, Nami, and myself," she announced. "Now, what we need to find out next is why and how."

"Well, can't they just fall in love with you guys? I mean, Sanji isn't much of a surprise…" commented Usopp. Saro shook her head disappointingly. That was what one would usually think.

"Sanji is a sort of exception. But, have you noticed he hasn't flocked to the other three females on board this ship? That means something is up. And the other two, Luffy and Zoro, rule out that possibility as well," she explained. Usopp went back to thinking when Chopper came up with a reason.

"Couldn't they just be playing a joke or something?" he said in his little reindeer voice. He glanced at the three men and scrutinized them. Saro quickly explained with, "It's gone to far to have been a joke. Zoro kissed Nami after all…" Chopper nodded and Robin thought of another solution.

"Do you think… it could be Sirens?" she inquired. The writer pointed at Robin with a nod.

"Exactly what I was thinking," she answered, though it was expected of Robin to think of that theory in the first place. Luffy, puzzled as usual, scratched his head and asked, "Siren? Like those things that make loud noises and tell the Marines that they can see us?" Saro slapped a hand to her forehead and Robin chuckled.

"A Siren is a mythical creature that lives in and is made of water. They can sing a melodious song that puts a spell on people and they fall in love somehow," she explained. She quickly had a thought about the previous night and looked up. "Luffy, last night didn't you say you heard something, or someone?" He nodded and smiled at her. She was in thinking position again, also trying to hide her blushing.

'Maybe it is…' she thought. Her head perked up a little and she felt a little more moisture in the air than usual. 'This is what happened before outside… could it be…' She looked up at the ceiling, concentrating hard. There was smirk on her face and she walked over to Lin, whispered something in her ear, and stood back. The school girl concentrated on the air and soon, puddles in the air were forming and coming together to form a figure. Everyone looked in awe at what was discovered while Saro smirked in satisfaction.

* * *

**Longer chapter and an odd, odd cliffie! XD I love these things. Except in manga and web-comics... Anyway, that little mystery hasn't been fully solved yet, so you'll have to wait until next time to find out! I hope you liked this chapter and please review! **

**Also some advertising! Battle of Romance is close to it's end! But, I need only two more scores, one for Luffy and the other for Sanji. You can still review if you like it, but I just need those scores and it'll be decided! So... I probably only need one person to score and it'll be done! So, just lettin' you know! Ok, bye bye then!  
**


	15. Riddles, Clues, and Sirens

**This is short compared to what i've been doing now, but I have my reason. Well, you guys get to find out the answer to the cliffie now! XD I just love those things. Well, due to so much homework and all, I've been very busy so there probably won't be an update will Friday or Saturday. I think this chapter's ok, to me nothing much happens, but enjoy anyway!  
**

* * *

**Chapter 15**

The puddles of water floating in mid air came together to form the shape of a young woman. The figure was very slender, maybe due to the fact that the substance was water, but then… it distorted. Saro watched in confusion as the water puddle contorted together into on big mass and then split into two.

"Um… Lin? What are you doing?" she asked. Lin gave her a strange look, and shrugged her shoulders, obviously showing that she wasn't even concentrating anymore. She looked back up and answered, "I'm not doing that… I wish I could though…" Saro side glared at her, and then directed her attention back to the two balls of water. They floated about for a few seconds and then, abruptly, they shot towards the ground, bouncing up, and then they transformed into two little water figures.

"Hi!" they said in unison. "I'm Ki," said one, "and I'm Ko!" Ki was a female; obviously since these were sirens they were dealing with, and looked about 12 or 13 years old. Her watery hair was about shoulder length and she stood to about Luffy's elbows, maybe taller. Ko, on the other hand, was a male but also looked the same age and height. His short, spiky hair contrasted with Ki's. He caught Saro's attention more than Ki since male sirens weren't really heard of in myths from her world.

"Hi little water people!" exclaimed Luffy, waving at them. They were still in their water "form", but you could distinctively tell that they were smiling back at the captain. "Wow, silly Saro! I should call you Smart Saro now, shouldn't I?" joked Luffy, smiling at her. Lin raised an eyebrow and glanced over at a clearly embarrassed Saro.

"Silly Saro?" she asked, trying to hold back stifled laughter. Saro glared back at her friend, her eyes saying, "Don't you start…" Though… there was something behind that glare that only Lin was sure of seeing. But, she shrugged it off and hopped over to look at the young looking sirens. Everyone was looking at them with interest until Saro interrupted, reminding them of what they had done, though she did want to learn more about Ko.

"Well, you little imps," she said, earning pouts and whines. "You're the cause of this aren't you?" Ko, probably the more dominant figure, nodded cheerfully and smirked at her.

"You're no ordinary human, are you? Never once have I met a human who could sense my sister and me," he remarked, Saro taking it as a compliment. He turned to Lin and added, "Nor one that can control water. Could you be devil fruit users?" Lin turned her hand to water and nodded while the novelist transformed into her half human, half animal form. Ki giggled as she floated around Luffy's head, making him spin around and become dizzy, falling back on the wooden floor.

"Tell me though," he said. "How could you tell?" Saro sighed, clearly indicating she was kind of tired to talk.

"The plain fact that the men had mysteriously fallen in love with some of us gave it away. But, there were other clues as well," she explained. "When I climbed down from the Crow's Nest, it was oddly more humid there until I reached the deck, when it returned to normal. Then, after going out a second time, it was more humid again, indicating that this moisture was moving. The final clue was when I saw tiny fragments of color in the air when I looked up, tiny "rainbows" you could say." Ko was impressed, and nodded, probably making a note to himself to be more careful next time. Luffy stood up after being so dizzy, and gave Saro another hug.

"My Saro is so smart!" he exclaimed, nuzzling her cheek. She blushed a deep red and didn't even try to push him off because she knew it wouldn't help. Zoro placed a hand around Nami's shoulder, and held her close, smiling at her. Nami tried, but failed to get away, and ultimately just ended up staying put. Sanji wrapped both his arms around Lin and hugged her tightly.

"Hey…" warned Saro in a menacing tone. Sanji merely looked at her with his lone eye, closed it, and pushed gently against Lin's blond hair. The writer was fuming mad, but could do nothing in her current state. So instead, she turned back to Ki and Ko, who were now standing in front of her snickering.

"Ok, so how do we break this spell of yours?" she asked, anticipating an easy answer. They laughed and pointed at her, both saying in unison, "If we told you now, that'd ruin all the fun!" Now Saro was ticked. This was getting them no where near their answer so she swished her tail right towards them. They jumped away, a sense of amusement mixed with fear in their face. She looked a little surprised, but also devious with a plan. She grabbed Luffy and tossed him towards them, both of them dodging.

"Lin, put them in a bubble of water!" she demanded, Lin immediately doing so before the troublesome duo could do anything. Now they were surrounded by water and couldn't move a muscle.

"You are sharper than most," remarked Ko in a competitive sort of tone.

"Ko, what do we do now?! I don't want to die!" whine Ki fearfully. "We should just break the spell!" Saro glanced at Ko and added, "Unless you want to lose your life." Luffy hopped back to Saro and wrapped his arms around her waist this time, and rested his head on her shoulder.

"Die? How?" he asked. Saro stuck a finger playfully into the water and smirked at them, explaining, "They aren't naturally water, unlike real sirens. So, if they're liquid molecules bonded with real water, they'd break apart and die." Lin felt kind of bad holding them like this, but she did so anyway.

"Well, if you kill us, how will you learn anything? We're the only semi-sirens out here who know the secret," said Ki happily as if she had already forgotten what peril her and her brother were in. Saro flinched a little and waved a hand at Lin, the water bubbles disappearing. "But, we can only tell you like this."

The two hopped around and then they linked arms, floating in mid air.

"One will be land,

two will be sea.

This simply rule,

goes for you, you and me," they said together. Saro extended her claws and nearly slashed them had it not been for Luffy's grip.

"What's that suppose to mean?!" yelled Nami, exasperated to the point of ripping away from Zoro. He just sat back contently and sort of dozed off to sleep. Saro thought about it for a moment and quickly thought of an answer.

'If I'm thinking correctly, than this just might work…' she thought, releasing herself from Luffy's grip. She grabbed onto Sanji's hand and dragged him outside onto the deck. He was perplexed, but went along anyway, no change in emotion at all. The rest of the crew went out to observe, especially Lin and Luffy. Saro stepped up to the edge, along with Sanji. She grabbed both his hands, turned outwards, and jumped out off the side of the ship.

"Saro!" yelled Luffy as he ran to the side. His fear showed clearly as he watched his new found love plunge down to the unmerciful ocean water with Sanji. He shot an arm down but didn't reach them until they hit the water. His eyes were wide as he saw their figures fade away as they sank down beneath the surface and all that came up was white foam.

"What in the hell is she thinking?!" exclaimed Zoro, watching along with everyone else. Lin swallowed hard and watched with worry along with Luffy, though his intensive reaction was far beyond hers. She knew that Saro always thought before doing something, but this was uncalled for.

'She's a devil fruit user now. What _is _she thinking? Well, whatever it is, I sure hope she's right…' she thought worriedly. She watched as the air bubbles rose to the surface and slowly, slowly stop coming.

* * *

**-GASP!- And there's my reason for shortness. A CLIFFIE! I bet you're thinking, "WTF?! WHAT THE HECK IS STRAW HAT THINKING?!" Well, maybe I was, maybe I wasn't. You'll just have to wait till next chapter to figure out the cliffie and the answer to my sanity. See you later, and please review! ****  
(I'm loving all the fluff in the story so far. xD Are you????)  
**


	16. Proposition

**I am extremely sorry for not updating in a while, especially a few other of my stories -coughMyDestinycough, coughBattleofRomancecough- I've just been bombarded with school work with no time for writing at all, not even on weekends, as you can obviously see. But the school work didn't only take away my time, but also my brain power, giving me MAJOR writing blocks. Battle of Romance will probably conclude soon, and My Destiny is at a halt for the moment. Can't think of anything to happen at the moment, but that's not the important thing. Enough of my rambling, time for you to enjoy the chapter now! **

**Key(Wow, been a while, i think...):**

**" " - Dialogue**

**' ' - Thoughts**

**_Flashback _(Probably won't happen, but just in case)**

**OoOoOoO - Scene change **

**Disclaimer: Me no own One Piece. Me only watch and read it. (Been forever since i've disclaimer-ed any of my stories. XD Am I in trouble? Lol)  
**

* * *

**Chapter 16**

"Saro!" screamed the straw hat wearing captain. Lin kept quiet and watched, knowing Saro had a plan… or at least hoped she did. Nami watched nervously as well, Zoro's tough hands on her shoulders. Usopp looked down at the water with his goggles, adjusting them this way and that to see if he could find them. He squinted and gasped.

"Oi! I see them! They're coming back to the surface!" he exclaimed. Everyone ran over to where he was standing and glanced down, seeing the air bubbles began to surface again. The two of them broke through the surface taking a gasp of air. They waded in the water for a moment, a surprised look on Sanji's face and a blank expression on Saro's. Luffy shot his arms down, grabbed Saro, and pulled her up while she hung onto Sanji. However, he slipped out of Saro's hands in the air, but, luckily, was caught by Robin's Hana Hana hands. Saro, on the other hand, was brought into a relieved embrace by Luffy.

"Luffy…" she whispered, caught off guard by this sudden worry. She could feel the blood rushing to her face, a feeling she soon became accustomed to. He ignored it and just continued to hold onto her, glad that she was back. She felt his body somewhat trembling as he grasped her.

'Was he that worried for me?' she thought. 'It is a spell of love, but there's a limit, isn't there?' She pondered it for a while until he finally loosened his grip to look at her face. She could see the relief and worry in his eyes, making her blushing go away. It made her feel… no… she couldn't feel that again. Never again. He smiled and returned back to his normal self… or as normal as his personality would permit. Nami watched with expressionless, narrow eyes…

"Sanji, are you alright?" asked Lin, hugging him with all her might. He gently pulled her off and smiled, answering, "I'm standing right in front of you, so I'm just fine." She smiled back, turning to Saro and approaching her. She, too, embraced her friend and asked her if she was alright. Saro could only nod her head and shook it a little, sending black strands of her short hair flying every direction. Usopp handed her and Sanji a towel while Saro announced her discovery.

"I figured it would work that way. Well, if two people are linked together in someway and jump into the water, they can actually breathe underwater, even devil fruit users," she explained. "It also allows devil fruit users to even swim." The crew glanced at Ki and Ko, who were quite impressed. They applauded her and came over to talk to them.

"Well, just so you don't kill yourself, it only works here in this ocean," explained Ko. Ki added, "And, the people have to be opposite gender or else it doesn't work." Saro dried off her hair and looked out at the ocean.

"But you can't be linked forever underwater… unless there is a place where this doesn't apply," she reasoned, looking back at Ko. He winked and nodded, replying, "Spot on! You're a lot smarter than the pirates Ki and I have seen." Lin and Saro shared a glance and laughed. But Ko stopped them half way.

"But… just because you know that doesn't guarantee that you'll be able to break this spell of ours," he pointed out. Saro's lighted mood darkened again at the sound of that and sighed. Convincing a siren to break a spell is harder than one would think. But, she sparked a simple idea that just might work.

"How about a favor?" she asked.

"Pardon?"

"A favor. We'll do you a favor if you break the spell, or tell us how to," she said. It was very simple, but it was the only thing that she could think of. Surprisingly, the two little kids glanced at each other with hope in their eyes and turned back to her. But, they didn't answer right away. Instead, they left the crew to another place to discuss it.

'Wow… it worked. But, I wonder what it is that we can do for them…' she thought. The crew stood patiently waiting for the two of them to decide what it was they were going to do. After a while, the crew dispersed and went about their own hobbies and pleasures. Everyone stayed out on deck while Nami left to take a relaxing shower to calm the nerves.

'At least we're making _some _progress, if we could call it that,' thought Saro as she sat down with her sketch book and some map pencils. She flipped to the page with the sketch she had drawn that Luffy wanted. She glanced over it again, wondering why she had drawn it. The lone girl, smiling alone on a ship. Sighing, the writer pulled out a black, fine tip pen and began to ink it.

'But… why did their faces turn so… hopeful suddenly?' she thought.

In no time at all, she had already completed the outlining and left it alone to dry. Her captain bounded over to her and smiled at her, squatting down beside her. She looked at him and there was silence between them until she spoke up.

"Luffy," she began, his attention caught. "Why were you so worried about me when I jumped?" She received a confused look from him, and a chuckle. He nuzzled her cheek, making her blush and slightly pull away. But that wouldn't stop him, no not persistent, love-sick, Luffy. He grabbed her, lifted her up, and plopped her back down onto his lap. Her face was warm from all the blood rushing to her head, and she fell silent while he finally answered.

"I-love-you. That's my reason," he answered, wrapping his arms around her waist. She thought for a moment, this feeling so familiar suddenly. But, she quickly stopped herself before she could remember any more. She wouldn't think of it. She didn't want to…

Nami emerged from the bathroom, nice and clean. She glanced over at the two, rolling her eyes and turning the other way, running into Zoro.

"Oh, hey…" she said, a feeling of awkwardness filling her. He smiled at her, gave her a hug, and looked at her. It was mid day now, and the sun was blazing. Ki and Ko were inside the kitchen talking now, so they wouldn't evaporate into the air. Zoro held out a hand to indicate a table with an umbrella attached to it. Blushing, she joined him at the table where he had left a drink there for her.

'Why? Why do I feel so nervous around Zoro so suddenly? It's Zoro!' she thought to herself as he took a seat beside her. She sighed and took a sip, surprised by the taste, but one glance from Zoro made her nervous all over again.

'This isn't going so well…' she tiredly thought. She began a small conversation with Zoro while Lin walked by, clutching onto Sanji's arm like a scared little girl and her father. They took a seat on the edge of the boat, their feet dangling off the edge. She snuggled close to him as he affectionately rustled her hair. She smiled at him, joy overflowing her heart. But… she still had the feeling of the inevitable.

'I might as well make it last,' she thought. 'To be truly loved…' Sanji glanced down at her and raised his eye brow.

"Lin-chan, are you alright?" he asked, brushing the hair from her eyes. She shook her head in a lie, smiling, and leaned against him again. The door to the kitchen opened, and Ki and Ko had their decision. Lin, Nami, and Saro turned towards the young Sirens, waiting for the answer while noticing that they were now more human like and not in their water "form".

"Could you all come in, so you all hear at once?" asked Ki in her young voice. They did as asked and took a seat in the kitchen while Ki and Ko watched them. As soon as everyone settled down, they began.

"We decided to take up your proposition, but the condition is that you do the favor first and then we'll tell you how you break the spell," explain Ki. A rush of relief blew through Saro and Nami, but Lin remained the same as the two sirens continued. "We'll even guide you to our home with this." They stopped and Ko pulled out a clam shell from his oddly designed garments. They opened it up, and inside was a thin needle, probably from a sea urchin, floating in water. It was pointing in the direction of the horizon, where the ship was pointed.

"Is that the same as an Eternal Pose?" asked Nami, holding hers up.

"Sort of," Ko added. "It works the same way except it is locked on to only our home and nothing else." They handed the clam to the navigator and continued their story while Nami became a little impatient. "Our favor to you… is to help our father. Will you accept it?" The crew's reaction was simple: Perplexed. Before, when they had first met these two, they were a mischievous little bunch. But now, those same kids are asking a crew of pirates to save their father from God knows what.

"How do we know that you'll return your half of the bargain?" asked Nami, being as skeptic as she is. "And what is it that we need to help your father with?" They looked up with worried eyes and were about to say something until Saro interrupted. She got up and stood behind the two creatures.

"Why wouldn't they help us afterwards? Haven't you noticed the tone of their voice, and how easy their clues were? If they really were kidding, they wouldn't have given us a compass to their home as well, let alone so information in a short amount of time. These kids are serious, and I believe them," she explained. The two looked up, faces struck with surprise. Saro glanced down at them, and lightly smiled.

"Will you please help us? We only used the spell to try and convince the pirates we've met to help us. But… they usually end up running away after we broke the spell for them in return, for they proposed a favor as well. That's why we can't break it now. But we promise we will!" Ki pleaded.

"All you have to do is get rid of a gem that-"

"Gem?" interrupted Nami with glee. Ko stuttered nervously and nodded. She grinned and turned back to the crew, saying, "We're going to help their father!"

"That was way too fast…" they all muttered. Saro noticed something odd in the two's behavior and expression, but just made a small note about it in her mind about it. Luffy shot up from his seat and ran out the kitchen door, everyone following him. He placed a foot on the railing, pointed forward and ordered, "It's time for an adventure, everyone! We're going to help the water people's dad! Let's set sail!"

"Aye!" answered the crew, excluding Saro and Lin. Lin was too busy being overwhelmed by the chance of an actual adventure.

"Isn't it amazing, Saro? We're really going to have an adventure! A real one!" she gleefully said. Saro nodded and glanced back at the faces of the sirens. Ki and Ko floated out into the air, throwing a fist into the air in agreement. Luffy turned back and grinned, saying, "This is your first adventure isn't Saro? Well, you'll really enjoy it with us around!"

'An underwater exploration for the sake of breaking a spell. An adventure indeed,' she thought. 'If it weren't for that gem involved, Nami would be half way done killing Luffy by now.' Luffy and Lin grinned in anticipation of the coming journey while Saro went to fetch her sketchbook, a small smile in her face.

* * *

**This was a pretty long chapter. 4 whole pages on my word document and about 2,010 words. Still, it's actually kind of short in a way. ** **Well, you know what I'm going to say, and I know what i'm going to say, but I'll say it anyway. Please review! I'll try to update sooner next time and not leave it for so long. Curse you school! Well, see you next chapter! -leaves to devise a plan to destroy the public school system- BWUAHAHAHAHA!!!! -cough-**


	17. Real Reason

**Ok, been a while since I updated this one. I've been pretty tired lately, so it's getting hard for me to update quickly. School's really made me angry a lot, and the workload (which I bring upon myself) is overbearing... but that's just what I have to deal with since I'm always so lazy. So I pay for my own habits. But, off the subject of me, I bring you good readers chapter 17. Not much happens in this chapter, but it's actually pretty important to the story. You'll find out once the story progresses. Well, I hope you enjoy it!  
**

* * *

**Chapter 17**

Nami stood by the railing, resting her hands against it and occasionally glancing at the needle floating in the clam. It caught her attention a few times when its needle began pointing down. She ignored it and simply began thinking about what she'd do with the gem the two tikes had mentioned. Lin and Luffy were at the bow of the ship and were looking forward to the upcoming adventure. They glanced at each other and exclaimed, "WE'RE GOING TO HAVE AN ADVENTURE!!"

They linked arms and spun around in a circle yelling incoherent phrases about "magical islands", "magical creatures" and "magical adventures". Chopper hopped with excitement around the two while the other sane crew members went along with their own business. Usopp smirked and held his head high.

"I guess I haven't told you the tale of when I traveled to the lost City of Atlantis when I was only seven years old!" he exclaimed. Chopper looked enviously, asking, "Really?! Can you tell us, Usopp?" The sharpshooter laughed and began his lie of a tale, captivating the young reindeer in the story.

"So, there I was! Swimming along the coral reef lining the bottom of the ocean. There were all sorts of fish down there. Weird looking ones too. One even looked like…" he said, pausing to turn around, "a funny monkey!" he exclaimed. He quickly turned back with his face contorted into one that resembled a monkey.

The group burst out laughing, and Luffy made his face monkey-like too, not that it wasn't already monky-ish enough. Lin and Chopper lay on the grass deck and laughed till tears came out of their eyes. Sanji glanced out from the kitchen and lightly smiled in amusement, and from seeing Lin's happy face.

'They're so noisy…' thought a certain novelist. She placed her sketchbook with the partially colored picture Luffy had asked her to finish. She stood up from the boards of the Crow's Nest, her new favorite spot, and glanced down at the laughing group. Saro watched Lin and Luffy, and then smiled with content.

"I haven't been this happy in years," she said quietly to herself.

"Are you really that depressive of a person?" ask a voice from behind her. She turned partly around and found a waving Ki and a smiling Ko.

"We thought you were lonely, so we came to talk to you!" explained Ki, grinning widely. Saro patted her white hair which looked transparent at times. She closed up the sketchbook and gathered her things to put them away in a corner.

"So tell me," she began, "what, exactly, is the problem we have to solve?" Her voice was casual when she asked, thinking that the problem would involve beating the daylights out of someone, or something. Reluctantly, the two tikes settled down on the edge of the Crow's Nest; their legs hanging off the open side. Saro rested herself against the edge in between them, and sighed.

"It's exactly as I said before…" said Ko. Both their faces weren't bright and happy just a few moments before, so Saro could easily tell there was more to it than just taking a gem away. She raised an eyebrow and looked persistently at him until he just gave up on trying keeping quiet.

"This gem corrupted our father," explained Ko. "And he wasn't always so mean like this.

"Yeah. Daddy used to always read to us at night, tuck us in, and tell us he loved us," added Ki. "Then he found that stupid gem and everything changed!" Ki paused to keep herself from crying while Ko continued.

"He had heard of the gem from someone and left in search for it, leaving Ki and I alone with family friends." Ko heaved a tiresome sigh and continued again. "We always wished every night for his return. But our God must've misunderstood our wish…"

"We don't want this daddy anymore!" choked Ki, trying even harder not to cry. Saro placed a hand around her shoulders and tried to calm her down.

"After finding that thing, he became different. He would yell a lot, drink, and hurt others. He was power hungry. Whenever we tried to get him to stop, he'd get furious and…" Ki yelped, tensed up, and clung to Saro's shirt. The novelist caressed her hair and looked up with hardened eyes.

"He'd hurt you guys, wouldn't he?" she asked. Ko just nodded, silent as Saro noticed him gripping at the wood. "Don't worry. We'll do what we can to help," assured Saro.

"I just want our dad back," Ki quietly sobbed. "I want… our mom back too…"

"Ki!" snapped Ko. "We can't go wishing for something like that! Not even our God can help us." Ki silenced and whimpered a bit; Saro's eyes hardened in a glare when she heard this.

"You guys… have been holding it in, haven't you? And living with it too…" she asked, still gently stroking Ki's hair. She was calm now, and she wasn't sniffling or crying. Again, Ko only nodded in answer. "Want to keep it a secret?" she added.

"It'll be better that way. They'll learn soon enough. This way, they might not run away," Ko answered cynically. The writer patted the boy on the head, catching him in surprise. He glanced up at a blank expression girl with thoughtful eyes though.

"If they knew it, it'd only fuel them to help you even more, not care them," she said confidently. But she could understand why he thought this way.

'There's no way I'm staying behind, now. These kids… remind me of myself… and my past…' she thought. "Just cheer up, or else they'll be wondering about it," said Saro aloud. Ki sniffled and wiped her nose with a handkerchief she had. Ko heaved yet another sigh, but managed to get himself to smile.

"You'll get your father back. We're here to help you," she added while she gathered her things. She began climbing down the ropes and soon landed back on the deck, along with the other two.

"My Saro!" exclaimed an extremely familiar voice. Saro braced herself and was soon being hugged by a energetic Luffy. "There's my Saro! I missed my Saro!" Ki and Ko held in stifled laughter and subtly pointed while Saro began blushing deeply.

"When was I "yours"? And will you let go," she asked; Luffy doing as she asked. She stood up straight and began walking to the women's cabin with Luffy following her.

"Were you working on that picture I asked you finished?" he asked. She nodded and this simply thrilled the boy. "See?! You do love me too!" The writer blushed at his interpretation, and quickly left to put up her things. When she returned, she found a frustrated Nami.

"What's the matter?" she asked, making sure she wouldn't be pummeled for bothering the navigator.

"It's this compass! It keeps pointing straight, down, and then back again!" she answered. Ki and Ko overheard this and hopped over to take a look themselves.

"Ah! That means we've already made it!" they announced. Lin, Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp rushed over and took a glance at the compass as well. "Now we just have to swim there!"

"You make it sound as natural as breathing…" said Saro. But she wasn't really bothered. She just had to get to wherever they were going and help them. It didn't matter to her how or when, but she just had to get there.

"Saro, you alright?" asked Lin, waving her hand in front of her face. She stepped back a little and shook her head slightly from the rush of vision. "You seemed kind of mad… you are glaring off."

"Oh, it was nothing. I was thinking about something that's all," she answered. Saro noticed a slight hint of worry in Lin's face. "Really. It was nothing. There's nothing to worry about… ok?"

"If you say so…" answered Lin, though the thought of worry stayed with her. She bounded off to the kitchen to tell Sanji about reaching the underwater island while Saro went back to thinking. She made sure this time that no one was watching her, and stared off at the ocean.

'My real reason now… I don't care if Luffy's stuck in that spell. My reason is for Ki and Ko… to save them from this fate…'

* * *

**Why does Saro's thinking change suddenly? What could make her think like this? Does Lin know anything that can solve this mystery? (Lin: Don't pull me into this... Hi to everyone though!) Should I stop asking dumb cliffie type questions at the end of chapters when they don't have cliffies? **

**Everyone: -nods- **

**Ok, fine. But, I hope you liked it, and please review! It'd really make my day better. ****(Wasn't a very good one might I add...)**** Pwease:3  
**


	18. Arrival and Conflict

**Baaaack! With chapter 18! Gah... my throat hurts. This is a long and somewhat random chapter... buuut... i like it anyway. Took me forever to edit... I'm kind of disappointed though because I only get a few reviews from a handful of alerters. (lol... handful...) If you like the story, please review so I know people are actually reading it and possibly like it. And if you think something is wrong, or could be better, TELL ME. Don't flame... i'm just saying if you have advice, please tell me so i can improve the story. Well, that's all that i really had to say.  
**

* * *

**Chapter 18**

"I get to swim with Saro!" exclaimed Luffy, grabbing onto her arm. She was unmoved, already getting accustomed to all this attention turned towards her. Luffy grinned while everyone else began breaking into groups as well.

"I think we should have teams of someone who can swim, and someone who can't. Just in case anything happens," said Saro, loosening Luffy's grip. He looked at her a moment, and then stuck out his lower lip, opened his eyes real wide, and looked up at her while dropping to his knees. She rolled her eyes and said, "That doesn't work on me…"

"I agree with Saro," said Nami. Upon that, the navigator linked arms with the pouting boy. Involuntarily for just a second, Saro's eyes widened and stared at the two of them. But, she quickly shook it out of her before anyone could notice. Luffy glanced at Nami, pouting and somewhat glaring, but shrugged it off. Saro sighed, and ran a hand through her black hair.

"I'll be with Sanji! We're already a perfect match!" said Lin happily. Sanji rubbed her hair affectionately, and smiled at her.

"I guess it's me and you, Zoro," said Saro. But, the swordsman didn't hear her. He was too busy watching Nami and Luffy.

'Poor guy… wait till he snaps out of all this…' she thought.

"It's decided then. These will be the groups. Any questions?" she said aloud.

"May I come as well?" asked Robin. Saro turned around, and replied, "Robin? Uh… sure, if Usopp's willing to go and Chopper will stay with the ship." Immediately, the two mentioned shrieked and held onto each other. Then, the sharpshooter fell to the floor in a spasm of coughing.

"Oh no… my I-can't-go-to-this-underwater-island disease is acting up…" he groaned. Chopper ran around the group, yelling, "No! Don't leave me alone again! I don't want to go through Skypiea again!" Saro sighed exhaustingly and tripped Chopper so he'd be quiet.

"Ok, ok. I get it," she said. "We'll just leave you here with the big fishes." The two freaked out again and Usopp hid behind Robin.

"What about me?!" exclaimed Chopper. "Don't leave me alone with the fishes!"

"Don't worry!" said Ki. Then, she whistled out towards the ocean. The sound carried for a moment, shortly followed by big vibrations that shook the entire ship. The writer grabbed hold of the railing along with most of the others while a giant figure rose out of the water.

"What the hell is that thing?!" she yelled. A giant cat-like fish stared down at them with rivers of water rushing down its scales. The crew stared up at it with widened and scared eyes as it slowly licked the edge of its mouth. "We're all going to die…" she muttered.

"You can ride with Kitty!" Ki said, petting the monster. Chopper shook with fear until the monster lowered its head and gave him a big, wet lick. He shook himself with disgust from all the slobber, but laughed a little about it. "And you don't have to worry about the ship anyway. Kitty's got friends here in this ocean. They'll watch over it!"

"We've already wasted enough time. Let's just go already," muttered Ko, grabbing Ki's hand and jumping off the side of the ship. The groups held hands, aside from Chopper, and also jumped into the water. Zoro watched with almost jealousy at Nami and Luffy as they jumped over the edge together. Saro glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and sighed.

"Let's go," she said, holding out her hand. The swordsman reluctantly grabbed it, and the two jumped. The cool ocean water whipped at Saro's face for just the second she hit the surface. But soon, the water surrounded her as she began breathing slowly again. She looked around and saw the groups waiting with Ki and Ko. Both she and Zoro swam over towards them and they all began following the sirens deeper underwater.

'This is amazing,' thought the writer as she gazed at her surroundings. 'If only we could explore our oceans in reality this way. Think of what money and energy we'd save…' They descended deeper and deeper into the waters, the light from the sun slowly growing dimmer. But, Ki and Ko were giving off a light blue glow which made it easier to see despite how deep they had dived. Saro gave a quick tug at Zoro's arm as he tried to swim another direction, and quickly caught up with Nami and Luffy.

"Hey Saro!" said the boy, happy as usual. He smiled at her while she just looked at him. Even now, sometimes she forgot he was under the spell… was she growing too accustomed to this? She shook her head and continued swimming forwards behind Ki and Ko.

"Are we close yet?" she asked. The twins turned around and pointed ahead. The writer squinted and could see a dome type figure that looked almost like a snow globe.

'That must be the city. I wonder. Could this be like the City of Atlantis?' she wondered, curious to see if the legend was true. Suddenly, a rush of water came by and they were being propelled at a great speed towards that dome. 'A water current! Great timing too…' she thought, looking back to see something lurking away. In no time at all, the group had reached the outskirts of the glass dome. The dome was so massive; they couldn't even see the top of it, or even the other side.

"Stop standing around and gawking. Are we going in, or not?" asked Ko. He stepped forward and phased through the glass, which was actually some sort of water. First, Robin and Usopp went in, then Luffy and Nami, Zoro and Saro, and finally Chopper and Kitty. They all made it through, though soaking wet on the other side.

"What is this place?" said Usopp, gazing up at the buildings that resembled ruins. Saro shook the water from her ears, and stood up, also caught awestruck at the view they had.

"Welcome to our utopia!" the twins welcomed. Some sort of flying creature swooped by with a basket hanging down from its legs, and a passenger on top. Creatures similar to that were flying everywhere in the sky. Down in the city streets, there were also strange assortments of animals living amongst the people.

"This is like a dream…" said Lin breathlessly, who was clutching onto Sanji's arm.

"Let's get going," announced Ko as he began walking down towards the streets. Everyone promptly followed him, observing everything in sight. The sounds of bustling talk and movement was surely familiar to the pirates, but Luffy couldn't help but stare at the food that was being sold. Lin gasped slightly at the jewelry and cloths hanging about. Saro grabbed hold of the both of them and dragged them along, the two whining. Then, they reached a gate type entrance, which opened and revealed another market place. As soon as they walked in, Saro's eyes widened a bit and she stopped walking.

"Hmm? Saro, what's the matter?" asked Nami, not that she could care less. The writer eyed around a little and replied, "I sense something bad, but I can't tell what it is." She motioned the group over, exchanged a few whispered words, and then went on their way again. As they went deeper into the marketplace, Saro's bad feeling grew stronger.

'There's a bad aura in the air. And it feels familiar too,' she thought, her eyes narrowing. She gritted her teeth as a throbbing feeling of familiarity began giving her a headache. In her thinking, she didn't notice where she was going and ran right into a man. She fell to the ground, along with the stranger, and looked up through squinting eyes.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I didn't-"

"You wench!" The stranger gave a swift slap to Saro's face and she fell over onto her hand with the other one on the burning spot. "How dare you…" he paused to hiccup, "knock someone like me down?!"

"Hey!" Luffy ran over and bent down towards her, seeing the red mark from the man's slap on her face. The boy slowly stood up, his straw hat and bangs shadowing his eyes. But, Saro stood up and held an arm against him, his face returning to its goofy look. "You ok, Saro?" he asked. But she didn't say anything. She only glared at the man's pocket for some reason.

"Are you looking for trouble, you bastard?" growled Sanji. The stranger turned around and glared at the gentleman. "No one slaps a woman and gets away with it with me around." Lin was also quite furious with the man, already turned her hand to water to whip at him.

"Cur! You can't speak to me like that! Guards!" he slurred. Two men in armor appeared from the crowds and stood in front of the man. He smirked and chuckled evilly until he noticed the two sirens. "Them! Guards, kill those two!" he commanded, pointing at them. The guards pulled out a bow and an arrow and aimed for Ki and Ko.

"Not before I kick you're asses first!" yelled Luffy, stepping in front of Saro. Zoro pulled out one of his swords and Sanji got into a battle stance, pushing Lin behind him. "Gumu gumu no…" The twin sirens ran over to the straw hat boy and clung onto his red vest to stop him. The other two paused and looked towards the twins and their captain.

"What are you doing?!" he yelled, losing his balance.

"You can't!" they yelled back. The guards pulled back the arrows, which were quite different than normal ones. The head was like a pyramids filled with some liquid. "He's our father!"

"What?!" The guards released their arrows, and Luffy grabbed the two and jumped out of the way; Saro following them. The arrows collided with a couple of crates they were standing in front of and there was an explosion, sending the four of them flying even further away. The crowds screamed and dispersed in separate directions, running everywhere to get away. Everyone shielded their eyes with their arms until the light faded away. Saro landed on her feet while Luffy skid to a stop on his side, still hanging on to the two kids. "That guy's your dad?!" he asked while trying to get back up.

"Luffy, watch out!" exclaimed Saro. She ran and grabbed him by his vest, and threw them in another direction just as another arrow landed where he had been lying. She threw up her arms in front of her as the explosion sent her airborne again. She let out a yell and then fell to the ground on her shoulder.

"Saro!" exclaimed Luffy, letting go of the kids to get to her.

"Stop! Stay with Ki and Ko!" she yelled, and he stopped.

'We can't cause any trouble here, or else we'd be hurting these innocent people,' she quickly thought.

"Everyone, split up!" Luffy let go of Ko, who ran with another group, and held onto Ki as he ran over and grabbed Saro.

"Let's go!" he yelled. They ran down an alley way while everyone else ran their own direction as the smoke settled.

"One of you, go after the girl and the other after the boy! Bring them back alive! I want to see their trembling faces before I kill them!" he commanded. The guard also split up after two of the groups. Saro, Luffy and Ki, who was clinging onto Luffy's shoulders, kept on running down the alleyway they had chosen, hearing the guard's footsteps catching up.

"I got you!" exclaimed the guard, appearing right in front of them. Saro quickly turned to her cat form and threw a punch at his chest, breaking the armor and sending him at the wall. But, he broke out of the wall he was embedded in and quickly grabbed onto Saro's wrist.

"Let go of her, bastard! Gumu gumu no… pistol!" His fist hit the man in the stomach, and he fell back onto his knees, but still conscious. Luffy ran up to Saro only to have the guard pointing an arrow at the three of them.

"Good-bye troublesome tikes!" he yelled, releasing the arrow. Saro roughly pushed Luffy out of the way and the arrow exploded, Luffy falling back and dropping Ki. He looked up, but couldn't see anything from the smoke and nothing was moving.

"SARO!"

* * *

**Cliffie... couldn't help myself. Just love this kind of stuff. Hate it too at the same time. I bet there's tons of things I could've done better, so please tell me... review... please... begging... I would appreciate it... (Stopping now...)**


	19. Bad Feelings

**Chapter 19! And not long after chapter 18. Little motivation going on except for sheer will to finish this story. You already know what I want, so I won't bother talking about it again. But really, if you actually like this, please do go ahead and review. I'd really appreciate it. It'll fuel me more to write. I'm sure this is annoying you, but I'm just saying. . **

** Quick note about something else. I think I might put my three other stories on hold for a while until I get pretty far into this story. I think it's a bad idea, but if you read my other stories as well, they'll just have to wait. I've discovered that manging 4 stories at one time is extremely difficult for me. Not to mention stressful. So, this will be the target of my attention for a while until I'm satisfied about where I pause it, finish it, whatever. Just a heads up on what I might do (not that it seems to matter). Anyway, please enjoy the chapter!  
**

* * *

**Chapter 19**

Luffy clumsily stood back up as he heard the bits of gravel falling back to the ground, and smelled the dusty smoke. He coughed a few times, and looked back behind him to see Ki lying on the ground. He quickly rushed over to her, and bent down to pick her up in his arms.

"Ki, Ki! Wake up Ki!" he said, shaking her a little. Her eyes fluttered open and she groaned while sitting up. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine… where's Saro?" she asked. The boy gulped and turned back to where Saro was standing. He stood up, and ran towards the smoke that still hung about. But just a few paces forward and he just stopped.

"Saro!" he called happily. The mentioned person was standing with her back towards him, and her hand gripped the neck of the guard. His face was bloody and wounded, and he helplessly gasped for air, only hurting himself even more. Slowly, the writer released her grip, and he fell to the ground with a thud.

"Saro, I'm glad you're safe!" he exclaimed, running up to her. He opened his arms to hug her, but she abruptly turned around with an icy glare.

"Don't touch me," she darkly snapped. He froze on the spot, shocked from her reaction. She turned around and walked past him, not even glancing up at his face. "Ki, are you alright?" she asked, her tone still icy and cold. The girl could only nod because she, too, was shocked by Saro's suddenly change in personality.

"What's… the matter Saro?" asked the captain. He placed a hand on her shoulder, but she roughly shoved it away.

"You could've gotten Ki and yourself killed just then. Why don't you ever think before you do something?!" she yelled angrily, looking at him now. He stepped back, watching her glaring eyes.

"Y-y-you… he grabbed you and I was worried, so-"

"Well, stop worrying about me! It's only that stupid spell you're under, ok?! If I hadn't pushed you out of the way, we all could be dead! Then Ki…" Saro's voice softened, but there was still the harsh feeling in her words.

"At least… we're all alive though, right?" asked Luffy quietly, still standing a few paces away from her.

"Just stop worrying and caring about me, ok?! Just think about everyone else. I don't need someone watching me and worried about everything I do! Forget me," she said, exasperated. The captain was silent now, taken aback and staring at the ground. Saro sharply exhaled and said, "Let's go meet the others. They're probably wondering what's taking so long." He nodded, and the three of them began a silent walk to the marketplace gate.

'Why is Saro so mad at me? We're all still alive, and that's all the matters… right?' he thought, carrying Ki on his back. He looked up and glanced at the back of her head, and watched as she walked with a tense stride. He still felt the sting of her words.

"_Forget me…" _The words echoed in his mind. He frowned and trudged along behind Saro as they neared the gate.

"Hey, it's Luffy and the others," said Usopp, standing up and dusting himself off. The crew looked up as the three arrived. Luffy set Ki down on the ground again while Saro walked along to stand away from the group.

"Saro!" greeted Lin. But, a silent response stopped her short of hugging her friend. The writer stood away from the group and stared out at the empty streets.

"Luffy," she said, still watching her friend. "What's happened?" she asked, turning to face him. But the captain wouldn't answer either. He wasn't even sure what he did wrong in the first place. The sky was gray and cloudy, oddly enough for being in a giant dome, and it began to lightly rain.

"We should go in one of those empty buildings over there," suggested Ko, comforting his sister and pointing at the building. Everyone agreed and got up to move, but Saro stayed behind where she was.

"Saro, come on. You'll get a cold standing out here in the rain," said Lin. The writer slightly turned her head towards the girl, who gripped a hand to one of Saro's sleeves.

"I'll go when I go. Don't worry about me," she said monotonously, turning back away. The schoolgirl grimaced a bit, but just sighed in defeat and left after the departing group. When she caught up, Nami asked, "What about Saro?"

"She needs some time alone," replied Lin. "But, don't worry! She'll come around eventually!" Nami glanced back at the girl, noting a quick glance of an angry face.

'What did happen?' she thought, looking back at Luffy and seeing his saddened expression.

**OoOoOWith SaroOoOoO**

The rain ran down her short hair and dripped down her face. But, she didn't care. She was too busy thinking about how stupid Luffy was acting.

'If he does something like that again, he'll cost Ki and Ko their lives… I can't let that happen no matter what…' she thought. She continued to just stand there, staring out at the empty streets, and feeling the rain splash against her wet clothing. The air was solemn and quiet, not that she wasn't used to it. A short flash of lightening appeared followed by thunder, and Saro looked up at the sky. 'I better go now,' she thought. The novelist turned around, and began walking back to the empty buildings, her bare feet patting against the wet ground.

"Ow!" she cried. She hopped over to a barrel, leaned against it, and lifted up her foot to see what happened. She stared at the bleeding wound that was on the same bandaged foot she had gotten a while back. Luffy even carried her all the way back to the ship when that happened. She shook her head; she was too angry to think of that now. She limped along until she reached the building.

"Saro," said Lin, first to notice her walk in. She shot a quick glance, just limped away to a spot on a crate by herself. Everyone else was also either on a crate or sitting on the floor, besides Zoro who was leaning against the wall.

"She's still mad at me… I can feel it," whispered Luffy, looking down at his hands. Lin turned back to him and placed an assuring hand on his shoulder.

"Ah, don't think about it. She's just…" Lin tried to explain. But the boy just sighed when Ki looked at the both of them. Then, she left and walked over to Saro, who was trying to re-bandage her foot.

"Saro… would you still be mad at Luffy if I wasn't there?" she asked sadly. The novelist didn't answer, but only continued wrapping the bandages around her foot.

"I should've let Luffy punch my dad. It would've kept us from this and maybe knock some sense back into dad…" she whispered as if the words were forbidden. Saro stopped her work and exhaled tiredly, as if fed up with a troublesome task.

"It's not your fault. Don't blame yourself, and I'm just frustrated with that Luffy was doing," she answered, finishing up the bandaging. "And your dad is important to you, so you didn't want him hurt. You were right when you stopped Luffy."

"But you and Luffy won't talk because of me," she added on a sad note, annoying Saro just a bit. The writer stared out at the rain again, almost blanking out.

"Once we destroy that crystal and help you and Ko, everything will be normal again. You want to protect your dad, don't you?" she replied.

"But I'm too weak to help him… You guys had to help me…." She answered, sniffling a little.

"We're here for you. You aren't alone," said Saro. "Now, stop worrying and rest up. I'm just having some bad feelings right now." Ki tiredly smiled and went back to the group to have chopper check up on her a bit. Luffy glanced up, and Saro's eyes saw his for a moment. But. It shortly broke when he turned his gaze away from her.

'I'm just having bad feelings alright…' she thought. 'Some really bad feelings…'

* * *

**Again, I poke at this annoyance of Saro's behavior change. -shrug- Weeeellllll, you'll find out soon enough. Maybe. -cough- **

** Short chapter this time, but just taking a step back from everything happening. More will happen sooner or later in the story. Depends on what I can think of to write. Expect weird lengths of my chapters, most likely short. That's all and again, please review so I know what you really think! **


	20. The Fighting Begins

**CHAPTER 20! So much updating lately. Well, this one is somewhat random, but it gets to the point quickly. Not really. How about I rephrase? It gets to the good part quickly. There we go. Anyway, probably tons of spelling mistakes in it, but I hope you like it anyway. A review would be appreciated and I hope you enjoy. **

* * *

**Chapter 20**

The sun crawled out of the dark clouds after the short storm had passed. Everyone was napping for a bit, feeling extremely tired after today's events. But Saro was wide awake, leaning against the entrance on her shoulder and observing the streets beginning to flood with people again.

'How can there be a sun down here? We're in a dome, for god's sake…' pondered Saro on a random thought. Her head pricked up a little when she heard movement behind her. She looked behind her and saw that everyone was beginning to wake up now. Lin was reluctant to get up until the cook gently whispered in her ears a few words, and she just woke right up. 'That'd be useful on school days…' added the writer.

"Good morning!" happily said Lin, smiling at her friend.

"It's the afternoon…" she remarked, turning around a bit so her back was against the entrance now. "What are we going to do now? Ki and Ko's dad now know who to look for, and here we are just lounging about. We should hurry up and resolve this problem…"

"Calm down already! What's the rush?" said Nami, holding her hands up in a careless expression. "We can deal with it as it comes, so in the meanwhile we can enjoy ourselves here." Saro rolled her eyes, and glanced at the twins, tiredly sitting up from the hard ground.

"I don't like being away from the palace, Ko. I don't like it here," whined Ki, rubbing her sore back.

"Palace?" repeated everyone, except for Luffy, Zoro, Usopp, and Chopper who were still sleeping. They nodded in answer as if it was the most normal thing they've ever said around them.

"Wait, wait, wait. Hold on. You guys are royalty?" asked Nami, a plan probably contemplating in her mind. Again, they nodded, adding, "Did we tell you this?" They shook their heads while the remaining four sleeping guys woke up from their slumber.

"What's going on?" yawned Zoro.

"Oh nothing, we're just discussing how Ki and Ko are actually royal children," sarcastically commented Saro. The swordsman nodded a little while everyone waited a moment for him to get it into his system.

"ROYAL?!" he yelled, falling backwards onto his head. Ki went into a giggle fit while Ko and Saro sighed. Luffy scratched the black hair under his hat, too tired to care what was going on. He got up, stretched, and walked around a little. He slowly made his way towards Saro, being apprehensive.

"Morning," he said, trying to smile. Everyone watched attentively to see what Saro would do. But, nothing happened. She kept silent and turned away from him. He slumped his shoulders, but didn't give up on trying apologizing to her.

"Ehh? So that guy is the king of this place then?" asked Usopp, actually hearing what was going on. They nodded, both of them getting tired of the questions. "Then how are we going to fix all this without sending him flying?"

"Just get rid of the gem. That's all we need to do," said Saro without turning around. "It's controlling him. He's just the puppet."

"I thought he just became greedy because of how valuable it was…" said Ki. "How do you know-"

"Trust me," was all she said. "Let's just get going again. If we stay here too long, they'll probably find up sooner of later." The crew and twins moved out of the building and stood out within the busy crowds again. But, the crowds made sure to be a ways away from them, whispering things right in front of their faces.

"What should we do now?" asked Chopper, looking up at his crewmembers.

"We should-"started Saro only to be interrupted by her own stomach growling. She blushed, and clutched her hungry stomach.

"Get something for you to eat?" finished Ko, looking up at her with a mocking look. She just glared at him, and silently agreed. The rest of the crew stayed put while Saro, Ko and Luffy went off to find a restaurant. The writer stayed silent the whole way, the boy following behind her and occasionally looking at her face. But she ignored him.

"We'd like, this, this and… this. Thanks," said Ko, giving the menu back to the waiter. It wasn't long before the food was already prepared.

'Almost like fast food… only it looks better and healthier…' thought Saro as she picked up odd looking utensils. They looked like chopsticks, so she decided to try to use them like chopsticks, and it ended up working. The food, indeed, was delicious and it reminded her of eating out at a fancy restaurant with a publisher.

"Woo! That was good!" said Luffy, sitting back in his chair.

"Yes, it really was. Have fun with the bill, Ko," she said, getting up and leaving. But the siren wasn't bothered. Luffy followed her while Ko paid the waiter and got up himself.

"Sarooo! Please don't be mad at me!" was what he heard first when he walked out of the restaurant. "I'm sorry for almost getting all of us killed!"

"God! Just stop it, Luffy!" yelled Saro, turning and returning to the group by herself. Ko walked beside a lonesome Luffy back to the group.

"Stop sulking. You know that she likes you back," he said, catching the captain's interest.

"Really?! She does?! Did she tell you?!" he asked excitedly.

"No, but it's as clear as day. I don't know why she's so angry with you though," he added. "Do what she says, and you'll probably be forgiven." He advised.

"Yosh! I'll do whatever to make my Saro happy!" said the boy with confidence. He bounded back to the group with a smile on his face and began not worrying about Saro anymore, just like she said to.

"You guys want to get this over with? Let's just go to the palace ground then," said Ko. So, the crew followed the two twins back to the palace to find their father. Nami was especially happy with this idea, rubbing her hands together with an evil look on her face. Saro walked alone off to the side of the group.

"Hey, Luffy," said Usopp, motioning him over. "Why don't you talk to Saro? She looks kind of sad, and you like her so…" he whispered.

"Nah. She doesn't want me to worry, so I won't!" he replied, walking along happily. Saro overheard this and stopped walking, getting an odd feeling in her suddenly.

'Why do I feel like this? This… empty feeling inside me… just like when I lost them…' she thought with a solemn look on her face. But, it didn't take long till she was interrupted from her thoughts at Lin calling her to hurry up. She jogged a little until she was caught up close to them, and then she returned to a walking pace.

'This is nothing I'd expect out of such an important matter. Even the kids are taking it lightly… crazy people…' After taking a few shortcuts here and there and keeping Zoro from getting lost, they had reached the palace, but no one was to be found.

"Hm… I guess he's inside. Let's go in then!" said Ki.

'They're too calm!' she thought, grimacing.

"Attack!" yelled a voice. They turned their head to see a flood of arrows flying into the sky and falling towards them. Nami and Usopp panicked and grabbed each other's hands with tears sprouting from their eyes. Zoro rolled his eyes and stepped up, grabbing one of his swords.

"Sanjuu… Roku Pondou Hou!" he yelled, pulling out the sword. A blue blast flew from the movement and blew all the arrows away, colliding with each other and blowing up in the sky.

"What?! How could that be?!" yelled the voice again. Zoro regain composure and sheathed his sword. "Fine! That's alright! Guards! To arms, and charge!"

"Annoying bastard," muttered Sanji as he stepped up to fight as well.

"Hey, at least it's _something _to do," said Zoro.

"Yosh! Finally! A fight!" exclaimed Luffy, rotating his arm in a circle to stretch it out. Everyone else prepared themselves in front of the charging group of guards as well. Well, except Usopp and Nami who hid behind a few nearby crates giving thumbs up for support. Lin looked at them nervously while Saro stared ahead at her target. The king.

'Get the gem and destroy it and it's all over. A normal day's fight I guess…,' she thought. The guard swung their weapons, and the fight began. Saro jumped up and ran across the top of the group by jumping on their faces. One by one, they fell down to the ground while the other three went on an all out beating spree.

"Cien Fleur!" said Robin in her battle stance. One hundred hands sprouted from the soldiers and placed them in a submissive hold. "Clutch!" Simultaneously, they all had their backs cracked, and they all fell unconscious. She placed her hands down to her sides, and lightly smiled.

"Gumu gumu no…. GATALING GUN!" yelled Luffy, throwing punches at everyone. Hundreds of guards were knocked out of their senses until he snapped his arms back. "Gumu gumu no… MUCHI!" He stretched out his leg and swung it to the sideways, also knocking out several guards… not to mention his two friends, Zoro and Sanji.

"DAMN IT, LUFFY! WATCH WHAT YOU'RE DOING!" they yelled angrily.

"My bad, my bad!" he laughed. But, the two were distracted quickly by the guards running towards them with full intention of killing them. Sanji jumped up and landed on his hands, rotating quickly and kicking everyone in his range.

"Oni… GIRI!" The swordsman slashed through a whole line of guards, knocking them all down. The two returned from their attacks back to back. With a short nod, they returned to the fray.

"Ahh!!! What do I do?!?!" yelled Lin as she ran from a few guard chasing her. She hadn't fully understood her powers yet, so she didn't know any attacks if there were any. She jumped up and knocked over a barrel full of water, the guards slipping and falling on their faces.

"I'll try this!" she said, turning around and concentrating on the water. It rose up and swirled around in the air a moment. Then, a snake head formed at the end of it and bit at the guards, drawing blood. They screamed, and turned tail, leaving Lin surprised. "COOL!"

'Time to end this,' thought Saro as she reached the end of the group. She landed swiftly, catching the attention of the king. Before he could do anything, she lunged towards him, aiming for his pocket. But, a sword swung down at her and she blocked with her claws, jumping back a little.

"Quite bold of you, your majesty," she mocked, licking the blood on her hand. He was panting with fright and excitement while holding the sword. "You're just making my job harder!" She jumped again, slashing and breaking the blade. But, the king ran a ways away and pulled out the gem, holding it high in the air.

"Strike her!" he commanded. The gem glowed and a green beam of lightening struck her. Saro screamed in agony and fell to the ground, motionless and bleeding from mysterious cuts she had gained from the blast.

"Not again… I don't want it to end like this again…"

* * *

**Sorry if it got kind of jumpy at the fighting scenes, but they're all in the same place, so I didn't bother with the scene change circles. Looks like Saro's gone and done something to get her hurt... i'd like to say again, but frankly I can't think of a time that she has so far in the story. Well... you'll find one soon enough as we travel farther into the story. Feel free to jump to conclusions. I'd like to read them and see if my story's really that predictable. (Need I have to ask...?) Please review!**


	21. And Then It Ends

**WOWIE! LOOKIE! IT'S CHAPTER 21:3 I feel so proud of myself. I've been updating so much, even on a weekday... though I might not be able to the rest of the week since i have a HUGE history test this friday which i seriously need to get studying on it. I wrote this in about an hour (man i'm slow), but i didn't neglect my homework... as much. I hope you guys like it because I certainly did. I changed my style of writing a little, if you can notice, after reading a really good story my friend showed me from a different site. But that's besides the point. I hope you like it. Before you leave though, I'd like to give thanks to some people first for helping me from this two chapter blurb to a real story. **

**Rivermoore's Horse (aka: Luffy's Second Mate): Thank you SO much for your unending support. I REALLY appreciate everything you say and do about everything! I love you!!!!! ♥♥♥♥♥ Go read her stories! They kick behind! **

**TrunksgirlBlaze27: I know we aren't that close, but thanks for your reviews and support! You were my very first reviewer for this, too! You keep me going on this story and I really appreciate it. ♥♥♥♥♥ Go read her stories too! They will rock your socks off and to the MOON.  
**

**Both of you, especially, have made me feel so good about this story! I just wanted you and everyone else to know that. I also thank and appreciate all my other reviewers, favorers, and alerters! I hope you guys like the rest of the story!  
**

* * *

**Chapter 21**

"Ha! Stupid girl! You can't hurt me! I am… invincible!" yelled the corrupted king, holding the gem in the air. Saro struggled to get up with the blood dripping down her arms and legs, staining her clothes and the ground. Her hold body shook as the pain inched through every fiber of her being.

"I won't let it end like this…" she strained as she stumbled onto her feet, almost falling down again. Her legs were father apart as barely stood up on her own, the blood still dripping from her cuts. Her breathing was heavy while she looked up at the king through one eye; the other covered in blood.

"Saro!" exclaimed Chopper, who was trying to avoid fighting. He ran towards her, dodging guard after guard. "SARO!" But she ignored him, fixing her narrow slitted pupil eye on the king. She had unknowingly turned into her cat form, and pounced at him even though it exhausted her to no end.

"Attack!" he commanded, the gem shooting another beam out. She dodged and continued running towards him. He panicked and tried again, this time not missing. The beam surrounded Saro's body once again, her scream ear piercing. Chopper watched in numbing shock as his friend fell to the ground in burning pain. He trembled, not knowing what to do.

"S-s-s-Saro!" he yelled, running towards her again. He stumbled, losing control of his legs from fright. He finally caught up to her, kneeling down beside her. Her body was cut up and heavily injured, but she was still breathing.

"I can't…" she wheezed, trying to get up again.

"Saro, what are you doing? You can't fight anymore!"

"I… can't let…"

"Saro, I'll take you to a safer spot," he said, trying to get a hold of her. But, she placed a bleeding hand on his and looked at him with determined eyes to stop him.

"I… can't let this… happen…" she said again as she helped herself up with his arm.

"What's going on…?" he asked, standing up with her. But, Saro just stood there shaking and her head down. The king backed away defensively, holding the gem out in front of him to prepare himself.

"I… won't LET THIS HAPPEN!" she yelled in a surge of sudden, blind rage. Her body altered completely and fangs replaced her teeth. Blood thirsty eyes replaced her normal sarcastic and warming ones. Chopper reached out to stop her, but she had already sprinted off leaving him to grab thin air. She let out a roar mixed with her voice and that of a real animal's. It echoed across the battlefield and Luffy turned his head to the sound.

"SARO!" he yelled, knocking out another guard and taking off towards her.

"Hey! Luf-" But Zoro was cut off by the swinging sword of the enemy. The captain ran through the grounds covered by the bodies of several unconscious guards. He passed Lin, who turned and saw a figure looking like Saro attacking the king.

'No! I have to stop this!' she frantically thought, dashing off behind the straw hat boy. Saro had already knocked the king down to the ground, the gem flying into the air. She hissed at him with her new pairs of fangs, and her deadly, glaring eyes looked like it was boring a hole in his frightened face.

"Please! Spare me!" he pleaded. But Saro couldn't hear in her blind anger. All she knew that she wanted to draw blood. The blood of a corrupted spirit. She struggled against him to try and get a good biting shot at his neck.

"Hey, what the hell happened to Saro?!" asked Luffy, stopping in front of the scene with no idea what to do. Chopper caught up, breathless from running.

"She – I – tried to – but – I can't let this happen – all she said – and-" he gasped.

"What?"

Chopper caught his breath and explained again, "She said that she couldn't let something happen again and turned to that! If we don't stop her, she'll definitely kill Ki and Ko's father!" Luffy nodded in understanding and turned his gaze back at the furious Saro.

"STOP!" he bellowed, the sound reaching her ears. She turned her head, seeing the boy running towards her. "I'm sorry, but I have to do this! Gumu gumu no… PISTOL!" His hand rocketed out to punch her, but she quickly jumped up and dodged.

"Traitor!" she growled, her voice changed. Luffy snapped his arm back and tried to talk some sense into her.

"You've got it all wrong! You said you were going to get their dad back, and now you're the one trying to kill him! Snap out of it!"

"Anyone in the way is the ENEMY!" She pounced at him next, but he dodged. Not for long though. She had him pinned to the ground in a flash, snarling at him while swiping at his face with her claws. He struggled against her, trying his best not to hurt her in anyway.

"Saro! Wake up! This isn't you!" he yelled, pushing her off of him. She growled until she saw the gem. Then, the king crawling towards it. With a short grunt, she jumped into the air and towards the defenseless man. He saw her coming towards him, reached out, grabbed the gem, and pointed it towards her.

"DIE!" Another beam, the largest one to emerge from the crystal, shot out once again and struck her. Luffy ran towards her and jumped up to grab her. He was able to grab hold of her wrist, but he quickly let go after being stung by the shock. He fell to the ground with a bloody, cut hand.

'I… I can't let this happen… it's too late…' she thought, her voice echoing. She didn't feel any pain. She didn't even feel the rage she was letting out. But she knew it was happening, but she could do nothing but watch. Again, she was surrounded by darkness, only a small space open for her too see what was going on.

"What are you waiting for, kiddo?" asked an impatient voice. Her inner thoughts looked around until she spotted a familiar white light and figure. The person from her dreams!

'Who… who are you?' she asked, that strange feeling of déjà vu hitting her. He came up to her and stroked a hand against her cheek, catching a tear that was falling.

"You still haven't figured out? Wow, I didn't know you were this stupid. My silly Saro." Her eyes widened at the familiar tone of the nickname. Who was this man?! He wrapped his hands around her in a hug, and whispered in her ear, "Just… open your eyes."

She did as he told and her eyes flashed open, her mind now being bombarded by red light. She felt the stinging cuts from the beam, but she didn't cry or scream. Now… it didn't hurt. She could see herself falling closer to the gem, closer and closer. She held up a fist, pulled it back, and threw it forward with all the force she could muster up after being so beat up. She heard a muffled yell of her name and the agonizing scream of defeat.

'Looks like… I couldn't stop it…' She blinked at the smiling, mysterious figure and closed her eyes shut, all sense of reality hitting her in sharp pain. But she didn't care anymore. The beating of her heart lulled her into a deep sleep.

'Great. I fainted.'

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

The girl sat up, this time not surrounded by darkness, but light. Just white empty space all around her. She looked around, then down at herself. She jumped a bit in surprise, seeing no cuts of any sort on her body.

"What the hell happened?" she asked, looking at her hands.

"You fainted. That's what. And watch that language of yours."

She turned around and spotted the mysterious figure, once again for the fourth time. He helped her up with a smile and she stood there silently, looking at him with expressionless eyes.

"What? Too stunned to say thanks?" But that was quite the opposite. She socked him in the gut and her bent over in pain. "I – groan – take that as a no…"

"Thanks for showing up when I was half dead!" she yelled. "And who the hell are you?! Just tell me already, damn it!" The man stood back up again, rubbing his now sore stomach.

"For a dream, I never thought I'd get hurt. And to hurt someone like me," he whined. She rolled her eyes, tapping her foot impatiently for an answer. "You really are stupid, aren't you?" She punched him in the back of the head.

"Watch it. I'm not in a good mood."

"Well… I wouldn't be either if I just got my ass kicked by an inanimate object with magical powers. And making my boyfriend worry." She held up her fist threateningly, but he stepped away snickering. "So he _is _your boyfriend."

"Luffy is _not_, I repeat _NOT_, my boyfriend!"

"Oh. I was thinking that blonde headed guy, but that kid works too," he laughed. Saro twitched with a red blushed rising in her cheeks. "Ok, ok. I'll stop. Let's wake you up now, alright?"

"Wait, you still didn't tell me-"

"I don't want to." He stuck his tongue out at her and she began to feel dizzy. She fell backwards and heard a muffled voice calling her name.

"Saro! Saro! Wake up!" Her eyes fluttered open and she was face to face with Luffy, smiling with relief.

'Déjà vu?' she thought with a smile on her face. 'And that guy still didn't tell me his name. Damned bastard…' She sat up from the bed she was laying on, an extravagant one at that, and found herself surrounded by all her crewmates, yet again. Lin clutched onto her, crying, "SARO! YOU'RE ALIVE! I WAS SO WORRIED ABOUT YOU!"

"H-h…help me…" she strained from the excruciating pain she felt from contact. Lin let go and felt embarrassed, but that quickly washed over when she remembered her friend was alive now.

"Silly Saro's awake now!" chirped Luffy, grinning broadly at her. His show of affection and care only made her think of the man in her dreams.

"Is the spell not gone away yet?" she asked, rubbing her eyes a little. Nami walked in, bringing in the two tikes with her. They rushed over and leaned against the bed.

"You're alright!" they both exclaimed together.

"I'm not that easy to get rid of. But, since we're all here, I'm guessing things went well?" Everyone nodded when the king himself strode into the room. He bowed lowly and apologized to Saro.

"My deepest and sincere apologies, young maiden. I had no idea what was going on, and I thank you for helping my children, myself, and my utopia," he said, his head still in a bow.

"Ah, it's alright. Stand back up, you're a king after all. And, I was helping out these tikes to get their dad back, and that's all the really matters to me," she answered, the two kids running over to their dad. Luffy looked at her for a moment and asked, "Why were you so mad about getting their dad back more than anything?"

"Yeah, I was wondering that too," asked Sanji, leaning forward.

"Uh… well it's just that…"

"It's just that Saro has a real strong maternal side to her, and she felt like it was her motherly duty to get these kids' dad back to them!" interrupted Lin. Saro stared her, taken aback at her answer. But her friend turned back around and winked at her, a smile spreading across Saro's face.

"Ah! Saro's ready to be a mom! With who though?" said Sanji, pondering the fact.

"Oi! I didn't say you could go and fantasize who I'm going to be with!" she yelled, blushing madly.

"Everyone, just get out! Saro needs her rest, and she can't get it with everyone here!" demanded Luffy, pushing everyone out.

"Oh come on, when were you so protective?" But the boy didn't answer but kept pushing everyone out and shut the door, leaving the two of them in the room together.

"Thanks…" she whispered. The boy smiled and sat beside her again, grinning. "W-what?" she stuttered, blushing a bit.

"Nothing. I was thinking about you a little, that's all." She blushed again, but only assured herself that it was the spell working its magic on him.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

"Hey Sanji?" asked Lin as they stood against the wall, beside the closed room door.

"Yes, my sweet little angel?"

"Do you think we should've told Saro that Ki and Ko already took the spell off of everyone?" she asked, hearing Zoro's surprised exclamations in the background. He laughed and shrugged.

"She'll find out. Hopefully."

* * *

**-laughs devilishly- You didn't think I'd let Saro live it down for being mad at Luffy, did you? Well, if you did, you obviously haven't been paying attention enough. XD I'll leave it you guys to interpret the ending however you want. -snickers to self- I hope the change in my style made it better. I wanted to try it out, and it actually made it more comfortable writing. XD Well, any problems or anything, feel free to tell me! Please review! **


	22. Party!

**I had a difficult time with this chapter... My style has changed A LOT now. I'm trying to put more dialouge, maybe too much..., but there are some aspects of my older writing style... right? OH I DON'T KNOW ANYMORE! I'm too easily influenced when it comes to writing! Ok, enough of my ramblings, but really. Is the uniqueness from the way I write still in there? I know it may seem like a stupid question, but i really want to know. **

**Off on a random note: This chapter is a little random, though the next one will be chock-full of fluff, so look forward to that! I hope you enjoy this one, and please review!  
**

* * *

**Chapter 22**

"Come on, Saro! I just want you to do this once!"

"No! You sound like Sanji saying that…"

"No I don't! Please?? You know you really want to."

"Shut up, Luffy."

"If you like me, then you'll do it!" There was a pause of silence.

"No."

"Fine. Come here then." There was a sound of rubber stretching and a yelp of surprise. The door burst open with a blushing Lin and Sanji, the both of them panting with exhaustion.

"What the hell is going on in here?!" asked Sanji.

"What were you doing to Saro?!" echoed Lin. The subjects of the questions merely stared at the two of them with blank expressions. Luffy was hugging Saro in his arms while Saro was pushing him away. Her eyes narrowed to a sort of death glare at the two who barged in.

"You pervert. Sanji, stay the hell away from Lin from now on," she growled. Luffy let go of her, picked up a dress off the floor and hung it on the edge of the bed. Saro stomped towards her friend, grabbed her by the shoulders, and glared at Sanji.

"No, it was my fault too, Saro-san!" she chirped. The writer rolled her eyes, and pushed her friend to the cook. They collided and stood frozen in that position for a while, Lin blushing.

"My angel. You've finally fallen into my arms," he cooed, running a hand gently against her cheek.

"My Prince, how you've finally come to me…"

"God, I'm going to hurl. Get out already," muttered Saro, clutching her stomach to emphasize her point. Lin stuck her tongue out at her and the two left.

"Come Lin-chan. We have to leave the two lovers to bond," Sanji managed to say before having a pillow hurled at him by a fuming novelist. He already shut the door and the pillow bounced off of it.

"Another nuisance to add to my list…" she said under her breath. When she turned around, Luffy was blushing mad and fidgeting with his fingers. Saro sighed, grabbed Luffy's hat, and slammed it onto his head. The boy fell over and sat up with a goofy grin.

"Will you pleeeease wear the dress for the party?" he asked in a whiny voice. Saro sighed again. She just hated dresses. Always have and always will.

"Will you promise you'll stop hugging me then?" she asked, grabbing the dress. He nodded, and she agreed, heading towards the bathroom to change. But before she could, Luffy jumped and got a hold of her in a hug, both of them falling to the floor.

"Hey! What did you just promise?!" she exclaimed, twisting to look at him.

"I promised I wouldn't hug you when you wore the dress. You're still in normal clothes," he snickered. She smiled ever so slightly, and roughly pushed him off by the forehead.

"You should go get ready too. The party's going to start soon," she said, opening the bathroom door after stumbling to get up. He grinned at her and ran out of the room to look for Sanji. Saro closed the door to the bathroom, and looked at herself through the mirror.

'Why should I wear this dress… with all these cuts around me?' she thought, lifting her arm to look at. Cuts everywhere. She sighed and reluctantly changed, having made a promise to Luffy already. She slipped on the dress and stood in front of the tall mirror right next to the sink.

"Wow. It does look kind of nice, if only there was someone to tie the strings on the back," she said. As if she was expecting this to happen, Lin burst into the bathroom and quickly shut the door. Saro turned towards her, and smiled.

"I have perfect timing, don't I?" remarked the school girl. Saro turned her back towards her and Lin stepped forward to tie the strings. "You look beautiful in this dress, Saro. Luffy sure knows what you would like."

Saro said nothing and just stared at the mirror.

"Oh come on, you aren't in denial are you? It's so obvious!" exclaimed Lin. Again, Saro said nothing and just stood back from the mirror and looked at the dress all around. "He is a lot like that guy, if you remember him."

"Yeah, he is. And that's who he's like to me," she answered. "That's all."

'She's still stuck… always so stubborn… or scared. Can't tell,' thought Lin.

"Fine. Now, let's fix you up just a little more and then we'll go," said Lin aloud. She backed up against the door and Saro heard a click.

'Oh damn.'

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

Luffy scrutinized himself in the tall mirror in the bedroom he was in, and tried to loosen the collar of his shirt by pulling at it. It only made it tighter around his neck and his face began turning a bluish color around his cheeks.

"Don't do that. Just unbutton the first one," advised Sanji. The boy did as told and felt much more comfortable, heaving a sigh. He ran a hand down the crimson waistcoat he was wearing along with black trousers, a white dress shirt underneath the waistcoat, and black dress shoes.

"I've never worn anything like this before. It feels weird," said Luffy, tugging at the snug waistcoat. Sanji grinned, pulled out a silk tie, and turned Luffy around, wrapping the tie around the boy's neck.

"I can believe that," he replied, tying the tie correctly into place. "So, what made you think Saro would wear that dress?" he asked leisurely.

"I don't know. But she did, so that's all that matters," he answered happily. The cook smiled and fastened the tie.

"Tuck the rest of it into the waistcoat," he ordered while grabbing two tailcoats. The boy did as told and tried to tuck the tie in, struggling, but he managed without the cook. Sanji tossed one of the tailcoats at the boy, and slipped on his own.

"Hey, Sanji. Ki and Ko already took the spell off of us, right?" The older boy glanced at Luffy out of the corner of his eye.

"Yeah. What of it?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to know," he answered, a thoughtful look on his face. He finished up buttoning the tailcoat and Sanji sighed. He straightened out his blonde hair and opened the bedroom door.

"Come on, lover boy. Let's get a move on," teased Sanji, pushing the boy along. They walked down a corridor in the palace, turned down another wide hallway and they emerged out at a grand stairway. The light from the chandeliers illuminated the room, making the two of them shade their eyes for moment to adjust to the light, and the room was bustling with people, both prominent and common. Music filled the room with a lively mood while everyone was holding conversations.

"Hey, you two! We're all down here!" called Usopp at the bottom of the stairs. They rushed down the flight of steps and met up with everyone at their own separate table. Sanji quickly went into swoon-mode and sprouted compliment after compliment at Robin and Nami. Zoro was leaning back in his chair, taking a swig of a wine bottle and finishing it off. He paused, lifted the bottle from his lips, and scrutinized it in front of his eyes.

"Huh? There's no more…" he complained. Just then, a servant of the palace showed up with another bottle in his hands, offering it to the swordsman. He grabbed it with a grin and popped it open. "I could get used to this."

"Funny, and get drunk every time of the day?" remarked Nami, taking a sip of her wine.

"Of course not, _dearest_," he joked. Nami gave him an evil look and made a note to hurt him after all this was over, though Robin found the joke to be amusing, laughing softly behind her hand.

"Where's Saro?" asked Chopper. Luffy stood to attention and looked up the grand stairs with anxiety. The music quieted down and out emerged the king, Ki, and Ko. To the crew's surprise, the two kids were no longer the small, 12 year old looking delinquents when they met them. They were actually teenage, and quite mature. Ko was in a suit similar to Luffy's and Sanji's while Ki was in a slimming dress that showed off her features.

"Whoa! Ki-chan!!" exclaimed Sanji, only to be stopped by Lin looking at him. He laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head, while the king made an announcement.

"My people! You are invited here today for an occasion of forgiveness for my children, and the troubles I have caused the one that has saved me from a wretched item of dark magic. I dedicate this in tribute of forgiveness to the one they call, Saro!" The music began playing loudly at Saro's announced name, and the three royals stepped aside.

But no one emerged. Well, not the right person at least. Lin bounded out from the side and looked a bit in a nervous state. Everyone stared at her confused while Lin looked around for someone. She spotted Luffy, ran down the stair expertly in her high heels, grabbed him and the two of them ran back to the side.

"Lin? What's going on?!" he asked when they stopped. Lin paused to catch her breath and replied, "Saro won't come out because she's nervous."

"I am _not _nervous!" retorted a voice from behind the door.

"Then come out then!"

"Not after you did all this to me!"

"Saro?" interrupted Luffy. There was a pause for silence.

"Lin. What were you thinking?" she half growled.

"Saro, I'm coming in. Are you ok?"

"I'm fine just don't come in!" But it was too late. Luffy had turned the doorknob and stood transfixed in his position. He blushed as he stood there at the door looking at her. Saro's short hair was straightened out, and hair clips held her bangs out of her face. A black silk shall covered her shoulders, and her skin looked absolutely radiant with the cuts miraculously gone.

"You like what you see?" whispered Lin teasingly into Luffy's ear. He stood up straight and sweat seemed to form on his forehead. The sound of running footsteps was heard, and Sanji appeared next to Lin, panting after running all the way here.

"Luffy! What were you doing – oh…" he drawled on the last word after spotting Saro in the room. He gave a good push to Luffy's back, sending him into the room. "Don't just stand there like an idiot. Escort your lady to the party," he said, holding out his arm for Lin, who accepted it with a giggle. The younger boy also hesitantly held out his arm, trying to look like Sanji. Saro blinked a few times, and looped her arm around his with a blank expression.

"Let's go." The two couples walked out as the band began playing music again. First, Lin and Sanji walked out and stood beside Ki and Ko. Out into the light, Saro and Luffy emerged, the crowd's response being applause. The crew stood up and clapped for the both of them, Usopp whistling which caught the attention of a few of the guests.

"Wow! You really must be something worthwhile to them, Saro!" he exclaimed. Saro's expression turned to slight shock after hearing those words, and her memory shot her a glance of something that seemed to happen ages ago.

_She glanced up at the sky; the stars were just beginning to come out. Saro smiled as she noticed a shooting star crawl across the night sky. _

'_I wish something worthwhile would happen to me and Lin. Anything. Just something that'll make this life worth living again.'_

'Something worthwhile… did I find it?' she thought before being brought back to reality with the band striking a loud chord.

"Come on! They're just about to serve the food!" he urged, already down a few steps. He reached out his hand towards her, and she stared at him. A smile formed on her lips and she placed her hand in his.

'I still don't know, but I'm pretty happy the way things are now.'

* * *

**Can you tell where i'm heading? Hopefully. Maybe. I'm not sure if I want you to know just yet. I wonder who 'that guy' was that Lin mentioned... I hope you liked it and please review! -anticipates conclusions people will jump to- **


	23. Time To Leave and A Secret Begins

**Sorry for the wait everyone! I've been writing other things lately and I got a little carried away. I finally edited this, so I hope you guys like it! Spring Break's near it's end for me, so don't expect an update anytime soon, unless I pull a miracle. Not much to say here, so enjoy and please review!  
**

* * *

**Chapter 23**

Saro sat at the table by herself, twirling a wine glass in her hands and staring at her reflection in the liquid. Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper were at the buffet table indulging themselves of the free dinner in their honor. Zoro was enjoying the night with bottle after bottle of alcohol, surprisingly not getting the least bit drunk. Sanji was having loads of fun swooning over Robin, Lin, and Nami.

'Have I found what I was wishing for all along? Something worthwhile to keep me going?' she thought, stopping the glass to a halt. The writer looked up and spotted Ko standing in front of her, holding out his hand and then bowing.

"Might I join you?" he asked politely. Saro smiled and gestured to the seat beside her. "Enjoying the evening, I hope?"

"Yeah, I guess so. I just got something on my mind. That's all," she replied with a smile. Ko scoffed and looked out across the room, and he smirked.

"Something… or someone?" Saro side glanced at the mature looking boy, closed her eyes, and took a sip of her wine just to keep from saying anything. "You aren't that complicated, Saro. You know you like him, and he likes you back."

"It may seem that way, but trust me, it isn't."

"Denial," teased Ko. Saro sighed and shrugged her shoulders when the band began playing a waltz. The siren stood up and held out a hand to her, half closing his eyes in an intent glance. "Care to dance?"

"Sure, though I might be a little rusty with my ballroom dancing," she joked, accepting his invitation. He led her across to the dance floor and he placed his other hand on her waist while she placed her other hand on his shoulder. They counted to three and they began gliding across the tile together. Ki glanced over and spotted the two and elbowed Lin to get her attention.

"Oh. Interesting… I know how to make things a little fun now!" She whispered something into Ki's ear, and the now teenage girl grinned. She dashed off to find Zoro while Lin whispered something into Sanji's ear.

"Oh my mischievous little angel," he cooed before getting up from his kneeled position. After reciting the plan to the rest of the crew, it was time to take action. The band continued except they sort of "rewound" back to the beginning which worked just fine with the rest of them.

"Looks like everyone's in on the game now," commented Ko idly. Saro looked up with eye brows arched in a confused manner, but it was too late for her to ask. He detached himself from her, and she was spun around into Zoro's hands.

"Zoro?! I didn't know you danced," she said, surprised.

"What's what supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it says," she laughed, making the swordsman blush. They danced for a few short moments, and before she knew it, she was spinning into another person's arms again. This time, it was Usopp.

"Did I ever tell you that I was the champion ballroom dancer of my village when I was only 10 years old?" he boasted. Saro merely rolled her eyes in amusement as they continued around, the crowd of dancers parting to the sides in interest. Among them, an intrigued straw hat wearing boy.

"Whoops, my time's up!" he said, spinning the writer into the hands of yet another person. Chopper in human form was her next partner, and he had a full blown blush across his cheeks.

"Hey, Chopper!" she greeted. The reindeer blinked furiously and shrank to his normal point, but she continued dancing with him anyway. He laughed delightfully, and departed from her. She stumbled a bit from the reindeer suddenly running, but she was steadied by the hands of a gentleman.

"My, my. What a beautiful rose I have picked from this garden of daisies," he complimented as he spun her around to face him.

"What a handsome gardener you are," she joked, making the cook blush. But, he shrugged it off and continued the pace with her. Luffy was in the front row now, watching the two with bunched eye brows. Then, he felt a push from behind him, and he slid forward uncontrollably on water.

"WAH!!"

"Ah, there's my cue! I'll see you again, Saro," he said, spinning her away from him.

'I think I know where this is going… but I'm too dizzy to tell…' she thought until she came to a stop against another object. Or person in this case. Luffy released a slight grunt, and Saro stood back a little. The boy blushed a deep shade of red and looked away shyly.

"S-s-sorry," he apologized, turning to go elsewhere.

'Well, I can't let everyone's efforts go to waste. Why not?' she thought, grabbing the boy's wrist. He looked back and blushed again, if that be possible.

"If you're really sorry, then dance with me. You know how, right?"

"Uh…." His words, or lack of, told her everything. She adjusted his hands to the correct position and led the way, the captain quickly following along. He glided along with her for a few measures of the song, the both of them blushing some shade of red. But the music slowed to a stop and they stepped away from each other. "You… uh… dance really good." He sheepishly smiled, more embarrassed when he thought about what he said.

"You too, Luffy," she answered as the crowd applauded them. Usopp cheered loudly from the sidelines and one of the women attending gave him a dirty look for his way of cheering his friends.

"My, my! What excellent dancers for such a young age!"

"Yeah, not bad for a group of pirates, huh?" commented Usopp absentmindedly. But he soon regretted saying anything at all.

"PIRATES?!" the woman shirked. The crowd began to panic and disperse in random direction, making a mess and wreaking their own havoc. The king tried to calm his people down, but he himself couldn't ignore the fact that _pirates_ had saved him from a devastating fate.

"Guards! Get those pirates out of my city!" he ordered. Ki and Ko shot a surprised glance at their father, and then proceeded to rush down and fight against the guards, only to be stopped by a smiling Saro and Lin.

"Don't worry. We're pirates after all," they answered in unison. The twin sirens blinked in confusion, but ended up just stopping and waving a good bye at their departing friends. Not before quickly knocking out most of the guards.

"I guess this helped Saro, hasn't it?" laughed Ki, watching the crew disappear into the city grounds.

"That's one way to put it."

"Hey, you make it sound like we did a bad thing," she whined, frowning at her brother.

"I never said we didn't," he answered playfully. The girl mockingly grinned at her brother and looked back at the horizon.

"Oh well. She'll make do with the changes however she wants."

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

"Hey! What now?!" yelled Zoro. Saro laced her fingers into Luffy's and held up their intertwined hands.

"Grab a partner!" she replied. Lin clutched onto Sanji while Robin grabbed Chopper and Usopp's hands. Nami reluctantly grabbed Zoro's and they quickly closed in on the dome barrier. They jumped and entered the ocean, leaving angry guards at the end. After sticking her tongue out at the guards, Lin and the rest of them made their way back to the surface, mindful of the dark spot at the surface.

'Why… is it so weird for Saro to hold my hand? I didn't feel like this before…' thought the straw hat boy. Saro glanced at the captain and smiled, giving the boy that weird feeling again.

"Are they ever going to realize? It's so clear…" laughed Nami, feeling quite the opposite. She didn't know why, but she didn't like the fact of some stranger being so close to him already.

"Jealous?" She jerked her head to Zoro, who was smirking at her and waiting for a response.

"If it wasn't so important for us to be holding hands, I'd let go and have you drown," she threatened. Zoro rolled his eyes and they continued along. Lin glanced at the two ahead of them and sighed tiredly.

"Saro may be smart, but she's so dense at the same time. The both of them are, actually," she whined. Sanji chuckled and pulled her along. After what seemed like ages, they finally resurfaced next to the ship and the ones that could swim climbed aboard first. Then, they tossed a small boat down and the rest climbed aboard.

"I can't wait to get out of this dress!" said Saro, shivering from the cold water. Slowly, the ropes tightened and the boat began rising out of the water. After a few more short tugs, they were back on board the ship and tired.

"I'm going to go change now," declared Saro.

"Me too!" called Lin. The two scuffled away into the women's cabin and the door shut closed. Everyone else dispersed to either change as well, or just lounge about in their wet clothes. Luffy stood up and glanced up at the sky, the ends seeming to gray a bit. But he shrugged it off, and went to quickly change clothes.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

"So? So? So???"

"So what?" grumbled Saro, slipping on a pair of khakis. She scrambled around for a comfortable shirt, spotted one, but Lin swiped it away before she could get it.

"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about! Now, tell me what you think!" she demanded, holding the shirt by her index finger. Saro glared at her and grabbed another shirt instead, quickly pulling it over her head and straightening it out. After brushing her hair a bit, she left the room to Lin, who was still unsatisfied.

'She's so stubborn…' thought the school girl, dropping the shirt. Saro was back on deck, running her feet across the grassy lawn to feel the grass blades move between her toes.

'I still need shoes…' she thought. When she looked up from her feet, the first thing she saw was Sanji standing there smiling at her. She was taken aback a little, so she stumbled until she got her footing back.

"So?"

"Not you too! There's nothing to be 'so?' about!" she cried, messing up her hair in frustration. The cook laughed and grabbed her by the wrist to stop her.

"I'm sorry, but don't do that. You'll mess up your beautiful hair," he suavely commented. Saro lightly pushed his hand away when Luffy popped up from the men's cabin in his usual red vest, blue shorts, sandals, and of course, his straw hat. He spotted the two standing together and, almost instinctively, jumped into the air and landed on Sanji's back.

"Hey guys! What are you talking about?" he asked, grinning at the both of them.

"How I'm going to kick your ass if you don't get off of me," grumbled Sanji. He pouted and slid back down to the deck floor, smiling at Saro afterwards. The boy circled around Sanji and grabbed Saro by the hand, asking, "Let's play a game Saro!"

"Alri-"

A flash of lightening struck, and the boom of thunder followed it. Saro roughly yanked her hand out of Luffy's grasp and stood back panting. The two looked at her with concern and tried to see what was wrong.

"Saro?" asked Luffy, trying to grab her hand again. Another flash of lightening appeared and she accidentally lashed out her claws on him. He reeled his hand back with a yelp and winced at the stinging. Saro was trembling now, her eyes wide and scared.

"Saro! What's wrong?" asked Sanji. But the thunder boomed again, and she pushed past him and fled to the nearest door she could see. The men's cabin entrance. She threw the door open and rushed inside, not thinking about anything else. Luffy stood where he was, frozen in confusion and worry.

"Geez…" Sanji muttered before running after her, knowing the boy wouldn't know what to do in this kind of situation.

"Luffy, how'd you get hurt?! Are you alright?!" asked Chopper while everyone began huddling into the kitchen to get out of the storm. But, the captain stayed quiet and stared at this cut, and then glancing at the men's cabin door. He walked in the opposite direction, went up the stairs, and quietly went into the kitchen.

"Come on! There's nothing we can do in this storm, so we'll have to wait it out!" yelled Nami as everyone filed into the kitchen. She sent one quick glance at the men's cabin door and then shut the kitchen door.

'She's such a nuisance. I should think of something soon.' Nami glared out of the porthole one last time before turning around completely and pacing around the kitchen. Luffy sat by himself after Chopper quickly bandaged his hand. He pulled his knees up against his chest, wrapped his arms around his legs, and rested his chin on top.

"What do I do?" he whispered. "Did Saro hide something from me?"

* * *

**To tell the truth, I didn't like this chapter all that much. I think it was just too random for me, and the ending stunk. I tried to fix those rpoblems, but it didn't work out too well. Also, so no one gets any ideas that I stole something, the dancing scene IS similar to the what happened to the finale episode of Ouran High School Host Club, but I didn't realize that until I started editing it. So, don't gripe about that to me and if you do, you'll be dealing with a mad author. On a happier note: You can see the relationship between Luffy and Saro is now progressing. But what will this lightening storm scene do to that relationship?! Are there secrets yet to be told?! Find out next time in my next chapter! (Please review!)**


	24. Interesting

**I lost track of time and didn't realize how long it's been since my last update (a week, I think?) But anyway, I've been loaded with work, so that's probably why I forgot to update during the weekend. Today, I had almost NO homework at all, so I decided to update. Nothing much to say right now, but to enjoy the chapter! Oh yeah, and review! It gets really weird in this chapter, but just hang with me. Well, on with the story!  
**

* * *

**Chapter 24**

Sanji stepped into the cabin, the wood creaking horribly under his weight. Another bolt of lightening flashed behind him and it illuminated the room for a split second to show a bulge in a blanket. Figuring the roaring storm outside wasn't helping the situation much; he shut the door and turned on a gas lamp.

"Saro? Saro, are you ok there?" he asked hesitantly, holding the lamp in front of him. He heard quick, but heavy, breathing as the bulge grew and shrank in rhythm. Carefully, he placed the gas lamp on the wood floor and reached out a hand to grab the blanket. But, it violently jerked away, surprising him.

"D-d-don't touch me," she harshly hissed. He stared at the figure for a moment before disobeying and grabbing the cloth. A hand shot out and claws slightly cut into him. He grimaced, but continued to pull the blanket away and off of Saro. When he saw her eyes, her frightened eyes, he froze. Her black hair was out of control and messily fell in front of her face in single strands. Her mouth was partly open from her quick breathing.

"It's ok, Saro. You've got someone with you," he tried to reason, reaching for her. She trembled and started to inch away like a scared animal. But, a loud roar of thunder made her shoot forward instead. She grabbed onto him and held tight, burying her face into his blue striped dress shirt. He instinctively wrapped his arms around her and gently caressed her hair.

"Don't let go… please," she cried, small tears escaping from her eyes. The cook made a calming shushing sound to assure her everything would be alright. "Don't leave me alone…" He blushed, though he didn't know why. All he was doing was helping a friend, right?

"It's ok. I'm here for you."

"Sanji… I'm scared," she whispered, looking up at him. This struck him as surprising. He never thought there would be a side of Saro that was scared. He always saw her as a sarcastic, cold natured, easily embarrassed young woman. But scared? He stared at her with curious eyes when another boom of thunder interrupted his thoughts. She dug her face into his shirt again and wrapped her arms around him, and he caressed her head.

'I didn't know she would ever be this scared in her life. She can tell us another day,' he thought, climbing into the bed with her and holding her tightly. Her breathing was normal now, and her grip wasn't as strong as a few moments ago.

"Thanks… Sanji," Saro whispered with closed eyes, a final tear falling from them. With that she slowly fell asleep in his arms still tightly wrapped around her. He felt his cheeks burn, and he knew he was blushing deeply. But, it wasn't that giddy feeling he always got when he was around other women. This was different. But, he decided to ignore it, thinking it was only his care for a friend. Soon, he drifted off to sleep as well, resting his head against hers and keeping his arms around her.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

The skies cleared and the seagulls began flying in the air again. The air was still out on deck while everyone else was in another room. The crew, apart from Saro and Sanji, were napping in the kitchen room except for one individual who wore a straw hat. He was wide awake, staring out the port hole at the men's cabin door.

'The storm's past. I should go check it out… but after last night…' he thought to himself, feeling all these weird feelings again. He didn't know if he was acting like his old self anymore. He decided against it and sat down against the door, watching Lin as she slept close by.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

Sanji's eyes slowly opened, and he let out a soft groan. He began to roll on his back when something on his arm stopped him. He looked down and found Saro still in his arms, and gripping his shirt too. The cook began trying to shake her awake when he abruptly stopped.

'She… she looks so cute…' he thought, feeling his face burn again. Saro was curled up in a ball against him and for some add reason, her ears and tail had emerged. He nervously twitched when she rubbed her head against his chest, trying to stretch out the kinks in her neck. She moaned a bit, and he trembled in an odd response.

'Ah… why is she so damn cute like this?!' he yelled at himself.

Saro's eyes flickered open and she felt a warm presence in front of her. She looked up and nearly fell off the bed in shock when she found that she was in the arms of the ship's cook. He noticed her waking up and gently pushed her away from him, smiling.

"Good morning," he said brightly, the blush still on his cheeks. The novelist blinked at him, and simply struggled to get up out of bed. She rubbed her eyes, which were oddly crusty this morning. But, she remembered what had happened last night, so she didn't care much at the moment. She did, though, turn around when the cook was getting up off the bed. He walked around and held out a hand to her to help.

"Sanji…" she managed to say. His one eyebrow quirked up in a "yes?" manner and before he knew it, he was suddenly being hugged by Saro. "Thanks." He gently wrapped his arms around her and returned the hug, his cheeks blushing again.

"Come on, let's get some breakfast," he said. But, Saro's eyes were on his arm where she had scratched him during their confrontation.

"Oh, was that my fault?" she asked, embarrassed. He nodded, but waved it off, leading her out to the deck and towards the kitchen. The straw hat boy who was staring out of the porthole saw the two and burst out of the door.

"Saro!" he yelled while running up to her. She looked at him, her expression unchanged, and he stopped right in front of her. He opened his mouth to say something, but just quickly shut it. Awkwardness fell between them and he felt like he should apologize, but he didn't know for what. "I… uh… I'm sorry," he ushered, and he ran back to the kitchen, leaving the two confused.

"What was that about?" she asked, turning towards the cook. He shrugged and they continued to the kitchen, where everyone was just waking up now. "Morning everyone." Lin groggily rubbed her eyes before they shot open wide and happily.

"Saro!!! You're ok!" she yelled, relieved.

"Why wouldn't I be?" she retorted.

"Ah, and you're back to normal you!" the school girl cried again, hugging her best friend. "Sanji! You scratched Sanji?!" Lin abruptly let go of Saro and rushed over to the cook, fussing over him and occasionally sending a glare to her friend.

'Hormones…' the writer thought, taking a seat at the table, where Luffy had been sitting.

"You… you ok?" Luffy asked hesitantly with his hat shadowing his eyes. Saro tilted her head in an attempt to look at his face, but it failed. She made a sound resembling "yes" and the silence fell between them again. Sanji noticed this and announced, "I'll get started on breakfast then." Luffy head picked up, naturally, and he grinned happily. The writer slid her eyes to the side to glare absent mindedly.

'Idiot…' she thought. The cook's similar reaction seemed to tell her he thought the same. Aloud, she said, "I'll help, Sanji."

"It's ok. It's my job after all," he answered, smiling. Saro stood up from the table, Luffy's gaze following her, and she argued, "Yeah, well, I'm going to help." The cook chuckled and gave up happily, not minding a female presence with him while cooking. Saro washed her hands and set off to begin work while Luffy sat watched, lonesome by himself.

"Luffy?" asked Lin quietly, squatting down beside him. "You ok there, buddy?" The captain looked up at her bright and happy eyes, and he smiled at her. Just seeing another happy face was enough for him to smile too.

"Yeah, I'm ok! I'm just hungry and bored," he explained, which was half true.

"Let's go play a game or something to keep our minds off of food then!" Luffy shot up from the chair in agreement and Lin grabber his wrist. The two of them ran out the door, laughing, and went to find something to do. Saro caught a quick glace at them before they left, and turned back to her work.

"Sanji-kun, call us when breakfast is ready, ok?" said Nami in her sweet voice.

"Yes, my love!!!" he exclaimed, grinning while Nami and Robin left. Usopp, Chopper, and Zoro stayed sleeping in the kitchen, oblivious to the fresh aromas of food and the rustle and bustle of everything else. So, besides them and their mild snoring, it was just Saro, Sanji and quiet. Until, of course, one of them decided to make conversation.

"Last night, Saro," said Sanji, Saro looking up from grating some skin of carrots for topping the food, "I've never seen you that scared before. What happened?" Saro looked at him intently for a moment and shifted her eyes around nervously before turning them back to her work. She finished topping the dish and handed Sanji the rest of the carrot.

"It's just something that happened to me when I was a little kid. It was… it was just too… just… look, can we not talk about this?" she asked, looking defeated. Sanji cut the carrot into small pieces to place in a stew and nodded.

"Ok, I'll ask something else. Do you like… classical music?"

"Yes, I love classical music actually. I wish I could hear it more often though. The traditional arts are the most enjoyable, in my opinion, which like the Renaissance times and aristocratic ways and all that. Unlike my friend Lin, who enjoys all that up-beat and fast music. It's hard to believe we get along sometimes; sorta like you and Luffy." Sanji looked at her intently, and a smirked played on his lips.

"Do you _like _Luffy?"

"That was not necessary," she snapped, jokingly glaring at him. "I am not going to answer that."

"Oh come on, _silly Saro_," he chuckled. He turned on the sink, cupped some water in his hand and splashed some at Saro. "Or else I'll have no choice but to drown you." She smirked and tossed a small bit of flour from a nearby open bag, making him sneeze. When he finally stopped sputtering, he smiled at her while she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Do _you _like _Lin_?" she asked.

"As a friend," he retorted. "A very beautiful one." Saro rolled her eyes and took some of the finished dishes to the table, whiffing in the strong aroma. Sanji watched her, a strange feeling washing over him as he saw her hair swish back and forth in an entrancing rhythm.

"What about me? Do you like me as a friend?" she asked jokingly. He half froze, caught off guard by the sudden question. What did he think of Saro? They seemed to have a lot in common when compared to their companions; both of them serious, sane and enjoying the fine arts.

"Yeah," he answered, not knowing what else to say. "You're a very sophisticated one to me."

"Aw, thanks. You're so much more understandable than Luffy," she complimented, making him chuckle. She stepped over to him and smiled, poking him on the chest. "But, you're still very, very weird too." He smirked and placed his hands towards her waist… only to tickle her though. She laughed uncontrollably, but he didn't stop.

"_I'm_ weird, huh?" he asked, stepping forward.

"S-s-s-stop!" she gasped. She tripped back, the cook following her, and they ended up on the floorboards, him on top of her. He immediately blushed while she was still trying to recuperate herself from laughter. The loud thud of their landing woke up Zoro, who was soundly sleeping.

"Keep it down. People are trying to sleep here," he muttered until he noticed their situation. Saro also blushed a bit, seeing his stare. "Hey, Ero-cook, if you had feelings for her, then you could've gotten a room." The cook's blush reddened again, and he stumbled off of her, returning to the stew.

"Shut up, _Marimo_. He just tripped and fell. At least he doesn't get lost while _following _people," she defended. He scowled at her and grumbled to sleep, leaving a chuckling Saro and Sanji, him more nervously going along. But he was appreciative of her defense. He felt his heart beat loudly in his ears and held a hand to where it was.

'One day, you are going to get me in a shitload of trouble.'

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

"I give, I give! I'm so tired now!" gasped Luffy, sitting down on the grassy deck. Lin was panting herself, bending over on her knees. "You're good at tag." He smiled a breathless smile and blew a tired sigh. Lin sat down beside him, blowing a sigh and smiling at the captain.

"Hey, Luffy. Can I ask you something? And you _have _to answer it, ok?" asked Lin, leaning towards him like a little kid. He nodded, too tired at say anything, and a grin spread across Lin's lips. "Do you like Saro?" The boy stared at her with bewilderment and one eyebrow arched.

"What kind of question is that? Of course I like her! She's my nakama just like you are!" he said as if she had asked him if he hated meat. She slapped a hand to her forehead and sighed.

"I meant _like her_ like her. Do you understand what I mean?" He shook his head. She sighed, exasperated, and rephrased again. "Do you like her more than just a friend?" she enunciated to make sure he got every word. He blinked and averted his eyes elsewhere, his hair swaying with him.

"I don't know…" he muttered, not sure of himself. Lin looked at him, shocked, as he turned back around to be twitching back a little. "What?" he asked, cocking him head to the side. Then, she lunged and latched onto him in a hug with a wide grin on her face. He yelped out in surprised and they fell back with a thud.

"Aw! Luffy! You looked so cute just then, I couldn't help but give you a hug!!" she squealed, startling the boy. He laughed and held a hand to his hat which had almost slipped off.

"You're a really weird one," he laughed. "What about you then? What do you think of me?" She stopped her giggling and looked up at him, still keeping him in her arms. A blush grew on her cheeks and she got up off of him, sitting with her legs crisscrossed.

"You're a really good friend to me. I'm really glad that we met you, Luffy. I'm really glad you helped Saro so much," she said with a serious tone. Luffy blinked, confused, and sat next to her.

"What do you mean?" But he didn't get an answer back. She kissed him on the cheek and smiled at him, standing up. He sat, transfixed, with a surprised look frozen on him and a hand on the cheek she had kissed.

"It's nothing. Just thanks a lot," she said again, walking off blissfully to the kitchen for breakfast. Luffy turned to look at her leave and smiled as well. He was glad that he could help, however he did. He lazily turned his face to look back at the horizon as Nami peered over the edge of her newspaper. Her gaze peeked over to a porthole as she noticed something swipe away. A sly and wicked smile spread on her lips.

'That… was certainly interesting…'

* * *

**WAHAHAH!!! I make Nami look evil. Sorry to Nami fans. I just, personally, don't like her. You know. Morals and all. ****I'll do something nice to her sooner...or later. -puts up a shield to mad Nami fans-**** Anyway, yeah some things have happened that might lead to conclusions that might lead to people hating me (I hope not...). Don't worry, my readers! I have plenty in store for this group! This, along with some of the previous chapter, will be another "arc", you could say. It'll probably be a short one to help strengthen certain relationships. -hehehee- Well, I'll be off to work on papers and studying for quizzes! Please review!**


	25. Promises

**I'm back everyone! With chapter 25!!! I'm in a down kind of mood right now, so I don't know when the next chapter will come. I went to my regional science fair yesterday, but ended up only getting honorable mentioned. So, i'm kind of in a disappointed mood right now. Enough of me! I just want to apologize to a few readers for what happened in the last chapter. That'll all be cleared up in this chapter. So, don't worry! Also, this chapter has pretty random events going on, and they fly by kind of quickly. That's about it with problems, so I hope you enjoy!**

**Key: **

**" " - Dialouge**

**' ' Thoughts**

**_Flashback _**

**OoOoOoO - I think you know what these mean  
**

* * *

**Chapter 25**

'What the hell's wrong with me, damn it?!' thought a certain perplexed author. She gripped a hand to her chest where her heart was and her breathing was a little abnormal. She gulped a few times, and then composed herself. 'Wh-what's all this? What am I getting all worked up for? Th-th-this surely isn't anything.' Saro opened the door and saw Lin standing there, just about to reach for the handle.

"Hey Saro! Is breakfast ready?" she piped. Saro looked at her blankly without an answer, and then gave a stiff nod. Lin smiled at her and walked in, Saro following her with her eyes for a moment before lazily dropping them to the floor. Her hand hung loosely on the handle before she gripped it again and walked out to call the other three still outside.

"Nami, Robin, Luffy! Breakfast is ready!" called Saro, cupping a hand around her mouth to amplify her voice. Three heads turned around, and one jumped up and ran over to her, a grin on its face. The other two smiled and stood up from their lounge chairs, stretching a bit. Nami sent a sly glance at Saro, but just quickly enough for the girl to not notice. She was already back in the kitchen, helping Sanji bring out the other dishes.

"What's with all the white stuff everywhere?" asked Luffy, sliding into a seat beside Lin. Saro slightly narrowed her eyes, but turned around to pick up a plate. She carried two plates of food to the table, set them down while avoiding Luffy's look, and went back to get bowls for everyone. Sanji glanced a worried glance at her, but proceeded to answer while pouring out the stew into bowls Saro had handed to him.

"Saro and I were just kiddin' around a little, and it got kind of messy." The school girl slammed her palms to the table with her mouth agape.

"You were _kidding _around with Sanji, Saro?!" exclaimed Lin, flabbergasted.

"Yup," she said blandly, handing the last bowl to the cook and grabbing two others to set out. The blond girl was speechless and just sat back down as Saro placed the bowls of steaming stew down. Nami and Robin walked in, having taken their sweet time arriving to the kitchen. Nami slid down into a seat in front of Luffy while Robin sat beside her diagonal from Luffy but not in front of Lin.

"Hello, dear Robin-chan and Nami-san!" said Sanji, pouring the last of the stew into the bowl. Saro reached out for a bowl while Sanji did, with his attention away of course, and he accidentally grabbed her hand, grasping it quite tightly. He immediately turned back and let go, blushing a bit.

"Oh, sorry about that. Yeah, I'm sorry. Yeah… sorry," he said quickly, looking at her black eyes. She looked up at him, smiled, grabbed two more bowls, and went to set them on the table. He also grabbed two and handed them to her as she came back.

After all the bowls were set and most of them had been seated, Zoro and the other sleeping ones had finally awoken from their deep slumber.

"Hey, sleeping beauties. Hurry up and let's get to eating breakfast," commented Saro, earning a few chuckles from everyone. She took a seat in front of Lin while Sanji sat beside her. Zoro, Usopp, and Chopper took the remaining seats and everyone dug in. Having already become accustom to fighting for food with Luffy, Sanji managed to get a plate full of assorted foods before Luffy could snatch it away. He handed it to Saro and proceeded to fight for his share.

"Damn it Luffy! Quit being so greedy!" yelled Zoro through gritted teeth. The women, save Lin, were happily eating their food while the guys fought each other for a mere morsel. Noticing her discouraged expression, Luffy stopped and handed her the plate he had filled so high with food, an apologetic expression on his own face.

"Sorry," he said like a child that had just been scolded.

"Oh, it's ok Luffy! I know what it's like to be so hungry all the time, too!" she giggled. He laughed along, everyone else taking the paused time to get a scrap of food. He indulged himself, again, and pretty soon, the plates were empty and everyone sat back in their chairs, full and satisfied.

"Would any of you ladies like dessert?" asked Sanji, standing up with a half bow. They all declined, feeling too full to eat anymore. Except for Saro, who hadn't eaten much in the first place, but would rather not eat it. "Saro, you don't like sweet things?"

"Not really. I would just rather not eat it," she said, standing up and grabbing the dirty dishes. She pilled them up one by one and carried them to the sink while the others dispersed to go and do whatever they felt like doing. Soon, there was only Sanji and Saro in the kitchen, cleaning the dishes together. She rinsed and dried them off while Sanji washed them with the soap. They went on like this for most of the time until most of the dishes were done. After a long time of water running, stopping, the sponge squishing against the plates, and the clinking of them touching each other, one of them finally spoke up.

"Is everything ok, Saro?" asked Sanji, handing her a plate. She took it, rinsed it off, and began drying it.

"Why would you ask that?" she replied.

"Well, you were kind of quiet after I asked you to call Nami-san and the others. And then you didn't eat much at breakfast. I don't know why, really, maybe just a little intuition," he said jokingly. Saro let out a short laugh and placed the plate on the drying rack, grabbing another wet plate from the cook.

"A point for you, detective," she commented with a slight smile on her face.

"So, what's bothering you?" he asked, washing off the last dish.

"Nothing's bothering me," she snapped. She put up the last dish, threw the rag to the edge of the sink, and went to dry her hands with a different clean rag. She heard the refrigerator open, then close, and then a clink of glass against the counter. She turned back around to see a vanilla ice cream sundae with chocolate syrup and a strawberry on top. "What are you doing?"

"I want you to try this. I saw a recipe of it when I was in your world and it looked quite delicious," he said with an innocent smile. "It'll make you look happier too… like you look now." She snapped back, realizing he was referring to her gazing at the ice cream. He handed her a spoon and lifted his eye brow as if saying, "You know want to."

"Fine, but in my defense, I'm only eating it because you want to know if you made it delicious or not," she said, taking the spoon.

"Yeah, sure. Like I need anyone to tell me that. I already _know _it's delicious," he gloated. Saro dipped the spoon into the ice cream; the silver quickly disappearing into the white ice cream. She pulled it out gently, placed it in her mouth, and her eyes lit up.

'Wow, this is the best ice cream I've ever eaten in my life…' she thought. She let it melt slowly in her mouth, savoring the flavor, and then she slipped the spoon out from between her lips.

"Pretty good," she said, even though it was obvious she loved it. Sanji grinned at her and remarked, "See, I told you I knew it was good."

"Alright, _Mr. _Cook. Why don't you try some?" she said, dipping some ice cream into the spoon and holding it out for him. He was hesitant, though he had no idea why he should be, but he bent down a little and closed his mouth over it. Just then, the door opened and Luffy had burst in, looking around for his hat.

"Hey, Sa-"He stopped mid sentence. He spotted her feeding the cook ice cream and sort of froze for a moment, and then went about looking for his hat. He noticed it, stretched his hand to it, and snatched it back. "Never mind, got it!" He placed on his head and ran back outside, closing the door. Saro let go of the spoon, it now dangling loosely by Sanji's teeth. It was only silence between them for a moment, though it seemed like a few years had gone by.

'Now I'm feeling weird again. Why's it feel like I suddenly lost something?' she thought. She dangled the glass in her hand, and then placed it on the counter, deep in thought.

"I'm… going to get some fresh air. We can talk another time, ok?" she said, walking towards the door. He nodded and turned away, trying to look like he had duties to attend to. The door shut, and he slumped his shoulders back, staring at the ceiling.

'Now, wasn't that a little awkward? Oh well. At least, I know what I feel now,' thought the cook, pulling the spoon out of his mouth. 'I just gotta hope they do too… Love is such a tricky business…especially playing cupid…'

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

Luffy bounded over back to Lin, who was enjoying the slight breeze that was blowing by. He walked up to her with a confused look on his face, again feeling weird feelings in his chest. He held a hand there for a short moment, but dropped it, not knowing what else to think about it.

'That's weird. I don't usually get this feeling…' he thought, afterwards, Lin's eyes opened and looked at him. She saw the confused look on his face, and she grinned at him.

'My turn!' thought the school girl. She reached out a hand and tagged the captain, making him stumble backwards.

"You're it!" she said, beginning to run. He laughed and began chasing her around the ship, instead tagging Usopp to join in on the game. A few more running and screaming moments later, Chopper joined in as well, laughing in his high pitched voice.

Saro stood up from crouching under her bed, bringing up her sketch book and journal. She opened the journal, flipping through a few pages, not many been filled out. Her sketch book still only held that one picture she sketched for Luffy.

'Better make use of this… I can't just waste money like that,' she thought, walking out of the room. When the writer opened the door, Lin zoomed by her, followed by an eager Luffy. He stretched out his hand and tagged her as she ran down the stairs.

"That's cheating, Luffy!" she yelled, abruptly turning and running towards him. He tried to skid to a stop, failing horribly, and Lin rammed right into him. They both fell with a loud thud, Lin on top of the captain, and sputtered from the impact. One laughed and then the other followed, Saro just watching the two of them for a moment. The straw hat boy tilted back his head and noticed Saro standing there, staring at them.

"Yo! Saro!" he greeted, holding up a hand as well. She blinked once, twice, and then continued walking past them. She quickly stepped down the stairs and climbed up the ropes to the Crow's Nest. Luffy followed her with his gaze until she disappeared over the edge. His face dropped to a sad expression, thinking about something. Lin, by now, had gotten off of the boy and knelt beside him.

"I'm tired now Lin. I'll play later," he said, getting up. He walked down the stairs and across the deck towards the lion head. He jumped a few times and set himself right on the snout, his legs dangling from the sides. Lin turned her head at the sound of a door creaking behind her, and half smiled at the man who emerged from behind of it with a smile on his own face.

"So, how'd it go?"

"They fell for it," she answered. "Hook, line, and sinker. But, I can't help but feel just a little bad for doing it this way. Are you sure this'll work?" The cook rolled his eyes up to think, rolled them back forward, and shrugged.

"It all depends," he answered, stepping out and sitting down beside her. She shuffled over to sit next to him, leaning her head against his shoulder. "It should work if our friends are smart enough."

"Saro's super smart except when it comes to this. She's a little slow sometimes," giggled Lin. Sanji chuckled and sighed deeply. She closed her eyes and rested them for a bit while the day dragged on.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

Saro dotted the last period of her most recent journal entry, and closed it tightly. She placed it down gently and sighed. Most of the day had already gone it was just the beginning of evening, a sunset on the horizon shining its reddish orange rays on the ship. She stood up and looked down on deck, scanning around with boredom.

"Looks like everyone's gone in for dinner. Whatever," she muttered; taking a glance at the plate Sanji had brought her for lunch and dinner. She wasn't in the mood of seeing anyone in the first place, and he seemed to sense that right away. With another heave of a tired sigh, she sat back down and picked up her journal again, running her hand across the leather cover.

"I should put this up," she said. Just then, as if waiting for Saro to say that, Lin popped up from the edge with a "Hi!". Saro jumped and nearly fell over the edge, sitting back down with her chest rising and sinking rapidly.

"What the hell?! Do you _try _to scare me into a heart attack?!" exclaimed the writer, eyes wide and angry. Lin only grinned in reply and looked at her sympathetically. "What? What are you looking at?"

"It's nothing. I'll put that up for you if you don't want to come down," offered Lin.

"Uh… yeah, sure. Thanks. Just put it on my bed," she said, holding it out. Lin took it with glee and stood there on the ropes looking at her friend.

"Saro?"

"Hm?"

"You'd tell me if something was wrong, or bothering you, right?" Saro stared blankly, thinking. And then she smiled, patting her friend on her head.

"Yeah. Now, get going. Don't want to miss dinner," she said, shooing the girl away. Lin pouted, but laughed. She climbed down the ropes and soon the sound of her steps faded away. Saro sat back against the wooden Crow's Nest, closing her eyes.

'I'd tell her anything? What if I didn't know how?' she thought. The writer drooped off into a slumber as the sky grew a dark gray color.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

"Lin, where's Saro? Isn't she hungry?" asked Luffy, stopping to talk with a full mouth of food. Lin closed the door behind her and shrugged.

"She wasn't hungry. I don't think she wanted to come down from there right now," answered Lin, taking a seat.

"What's she moping about? What kind of person stays up in a box all day?" remarked Nami. A few glances were shot towards her, but the question was left in the air unanswered, not that there was an answer to give. Luffy looked out of the porthole for a second, noticing how dark it was outside. He instinctively stood up from the table and walked towards the door.

"Luffy?" said Sanji, not lifting his eyes. But, a sudden flash of lightening and flash of thunder roared afterwards. The ship suddenly began to rock dangerously, knocking everyone to and fro.

"Shit! Saro's still out there!" yelled Zoro, not that he needed too. The door was already opened and swinging back and forth by the force of the winds.

"Shut the door!" ordered Nami.

"But Luffy-"

"Just do it! They can make it to another part of the ship!" she exclaimed.

'This damn Grand Line! I would've been able to tell if a storm was coming! What the hell's going on?!' thought Nami, hanging onto the table. The door was shut by a reluctant Zoro and everyone held tight to something sturdy and decided to wait out the storm.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

"Saro!" called Luffy, his voice barely audible through the harsh wind and water. He looked towards the Crow's Nest and saw that on side of the ropes leading up to it had been burnt off from something. He figured lightening had somehow stricken it. He ran towards the said still intact and climbed as quickly as he could.

"SARO! I'm coming up there! Hang on!" he yelled again. He saw nothing, but could very faintly hear her crying in fear. He was halfway there when the ropes were struck by lightening again, burning them. He stretched out his hand just in time before the ropes fell to the deck below. The captain bungeed back into the Crow's Nest, flying against the merciless rain beating down on him.

He landed, quickly steadying himself on the rocking ship. He saw Saro crouching by herself against the wood planks, her knees held up against her chest and her hands covering her head. He steadily walked over to her, thunder booming. He saw her cringe, tightening the ball she was in. Luffy knelt down in front of her and wrapped his arms around her, sitting down against the wood planks as well.

"Ju-ju-just what do I-I do?" stuttered Saro almost incoherently.

"It's ok. I'm here. I'll protect you, Saro," he assured her, squeezing her tightly in his arms. She kept her eyes closed even though his body kept the rain out of her face. The warmth of his body kept her from shivering, making her feel safe. She pushed herself closer against him, catching him off guard, but he just kept squeezing her tightly, keeping her safe and warm.

"Luffy…" she whispered; he barely heard her through the storm.

"Shh… I'll protect you… my Saro," he whispered back. They stayed like that, Saro in Luffy's arms, and she kept her eyes closed the whole time… his words echoing in her mind.

'_Shh… I'll protect you… my Saro…' _Along with those words, she couldn't help but sense a hint of familiarity for some reason. But, she was already too tired and exhausted to care. Soon, she had dozed off, the storm dying away. But, the captain still held his arms around his crewmate, keeping her safe.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

"_I'll protect you… my…" groaned a young man, collapsing before finishing. _

Saro opened her eyes, and looked around till they focused. She stood up, stretching out until she noticed where she was. But, shock filled her mind… along with fear. She turned and saw the older man that had spoken earlier, lying in front of a little girl.

"_No! Wake up! Wake up!" she cried, tears falling in streams down her face. In front of her, there stood two adults staring down at them with evil smirks. _

Saro watched the scene to her horror before she covered her ears, shutting her eyes.

"No. No. No!"

"DON'T!!" she screamed aloud, suddenly waking up. She covered her mouth, quick breaths entering through her fingers. But, it was only Luffy next to her, and she hadn't screamed that loud. She adjusted her index finger and felt a tear at the edge of her eyes.

'No. No more. No more…' she thought. Shaking, she turned her head to see a Luffy leaning gently against her, lightly snoring. Awe struck the writer, no memory at all of last night's events. 'Luffy?'

"Saro…?" mumbled the captain, his eyes groggily opening up. She felt her cheeks burn up suddenly, but it quickly went away when she saw how he was looking at her with attention. "Saro. You're shaking. And you screamed."

"No, it's ok Luffy. I'm-"He gave her no time to finish. He grabbed her again, holding her tight against him.

"It doesn't matter what's happened to you or what will happen. I don't know a lot about you, but I do know this. I'll always protect you. I promise…" he said, bringing tears to her eyes suddenly. She slipped her arms out and hugged him back.

"Thanks… captain," she whispered, her voice partly choking. "You don't know what that means to me." They stayed like that for a while and then they parted, looking at each other. He smiled brightly like the idiot he always is, and she half laughed, trying not to cry. He lifted a finger, and caught a tear about to fall. Then, the sound of camera shutters went off and Saro's mind turned back to the evil one it was.

"Now, _that's _a keeper!" said Lin, holding her cell phone pointed towards them. Saro turned her head towards the girl, a glare set in her eyes.

"That's amazing how that little thing can do that," said Sanji in awe. A growl resonated in Saro's throat, signaling that the two would have to be on their guard today for any sudden movements. They scurried away by the water "stairs" that Lin made, leaving the two alone again.

'Note to self: Destroy portable phone device in near future,' Saro told herself. Luffy laughed and smiled at her again.

"Well, maybe I can't protect you from them though," he laughed. She smiled at him, and leaned in against his chest.

"I'll make a promise then. I promise…" she drawled, trying to think of something meaningful.

"Never leave my side," he finished. She blushed at first, but remembered that she was now a part of his crew. His nakama. She nodded in agreement and held out her pinky. The captain followed and held out his, too.

"I promise to never leave your side," she recited, Luffy latching his pinky onto hers.

"I promise to always protect you," he repeated with a triumphant smile. They let their fingers go with a laugh, and the promises were made.

* * *

**The return of the dreaded camera cell phone and random endings!! AHAHA! -ahem- Yeah, the ending was pretty random. I had another way intended, but this decided to come up instead. I hope that didn't make it worse or anything. Made the chapter pretty long, though! Anyway, I hope that cleared everything up enough. Err... cleared up the recent mysteries at least. There's still plenty to learn about Saro and Lin! You'll just have to wait for the story to keep going! Oh yeah, and this pretty much concludes our mixed up pairing arc. Please review!**


	26. Happier?

**Heyo! Anyone miss me? Probably not, but I'm not really in the mood to care. KIDDING. Anyway, obviously, i've had a busy week. I still have homework too. On Easter weekend. Oh, the prices of being gifted and talented. (Ego moment over) Anyway, again, Here I bring chapter 26 of this originally 2 chapter blurb. Ain't a blurb anymore now, is it?! Haha. Whatever. Well, this chapter is \ a free-for-all, pretty much, totally, random chapter. (Kind of. To me at least) Nothing that important happens. Just a lot of talking and descriptions and feelings - Wait, i'll stop there. I hope y'all like it anyway. I hope you like THIS cliffy, RIVY!!!! This is for what you did in FRIENDS. Though it's not as bad. Whatever. MUHAHAHAHAHAAHH! (Ok, i'm done). Get to readin'!  
**

* * *

**Chapter 26**

A few days had past since the odd thunderstorm eventful one had happened, and everything was back to normal… or as normal as it would allow. Usopp, with the help of Lin's water stairs, was fixing the ropes that led up to the Crow's Nest while everyone else lounged about lazily doing whatever suited them, just like any other non-eventful day.

"Do you need anymore rope Usopp?!" called Lin from the deck.

"No! I'm almost done! Could you wait just a little longer?!" he replied.

"No problem! Take your time," she answered. The girl kept her focus on the water, remembering that the slightest disturbance could make her concentration break. She thought hard about the shape of the stairs, making sure it was sturdy and constantly circulating to stay concrete. Though, she was thinking just a bit too hard…

"Hey there, Lin-chwan," greeted a certain blonde haired cook. Immediately, Lin turned her head away, and the water stairs collapsed down onto the deck.

"Hi Sanji!"

"Lin!! What are you doing?!" angrily yelled Usopp, clinging to the Crow's Nest and kicking his feet. She turned back, an "oops, my bad" look on her face. She lifted her hands to form another stair case when she noticed a glaring writer, soaking wet. She smiled nervously, but Saro just walked off, probably muttering to herself about how on earth she can stand Lin.

"Sorry Usopp!" she said, setting the water stairs below him again. He bolted the last part of the rope down, turned around, and slid down the water stairs she made. Not wanting to be rammed into, she turned it towards the pond she took the water from, and he fell in with a splash just as Saro walked by again.

"Water is not my friend today…" she grumbled, running a hand through her wet hair. Luffy looked up from his seat on the lion head and started laughing obnoxiously. Usopp surfaced from the water, laughing at the joy ride, and then at Saro. Saro shook her head, the strands sticking to her face wildly. But, she didn't care. She had something on her mind, and it was bothering her relentlessly. Luffy jumped up and ran over to her, taking off his vest to help dry her off.

"Use this to dry off," he said, holding it out. She blushed, remembering how similar this was to their first meeting.

"Nah, it's ok. I'll just go get a towel," she said, trying to hide the annoyed tone in her mind and leaving to go get one. But one was thrown at her face as she turned around. "Thanks," she said, muffled. The towel fell, and she saw that it was Nami who had thrown it at her.

"Wouldn't want you all wet, now would we?" she said happily with a smile. Saro could tell right away that it was pretty much fake, but couldn't summon any reason as to why she would have to do that. She accepted the towel and dried her hair off, walking to the side of the ship to sit while Usopp climbed back on deck. He quickly scrambled up the ropes to the Crow's Nest, ignoring the fact that he was still soaking wet.

'She's an odd one, alright…' thought Saro, letting the towel slip down from her hair and onto her shoulders. It was a clear day without a cloud in sight, much to the relief of Saro. She climbed up onto the edge side, and sat with her feet dangling over the ocean, the clear blue water reflecting the sun's rays. Suddenly, she held her fists against her temples, that annoying thought coming back to her. 'Ah! There it goes again! Why do I keep thinking about that?'

"Saaaaro!" called Lin, jumping up beside her and landing rather loudly. Saro gripped the wood, making sure not to lose her balance, and side glanced at the girl.

"What?" she half growled.

"What's with the tone? Can't I just come and talk to you?"

"No, because I know something will involve me losing more of what sanity I have left," she replied harshly. Lin stuck her tongue out at her, not a care in the world to Saro though, and sat beside her friend, leaning her head on the other's shoulder. She breathed deeply, and then forced a noticeable sigh.

"You know? Ever since we came here, you've gotten a lot happier," she said idly. Saro gave no reply except for a sigh of her own. "I mean, you don't get stressed out like you used to; it's a lot more relaxing."

"Oh yeah. You're totally right… if you call falling into another world only to get unconscious more than once, attacked by a mob in a city, losing the ability to swim, having a fictional character momentarily fall in love with you, dive thousands of feet underwater to fight an army of water creatures relaxing and not stressful," answered Saro with a roll of her eyes. The company smiled brightly and giggled.

"See? I knew you'd see it my way!" Saro shook her head, defeated, with a smile and gave a gentle push against Lin's head. She rocked back to her normal position and plastered a serious face on her though. "But, really. You are happier, aren't you? I mean, you didn't really want to come here in the first place…"

"I don't know… It's better than where we lived before, I can tell you that," answered Saro. There was a lapse of silence, neither making a noise. A slight breeze blew by, ruffling Saro's short and messy hair. Lin looked up at her friend with a thoughtful look on her face, Saro turning back towards her with a blank one.

"You know… I can admit that you are a lot smarter than me, Saro," she said. The writer chuckled at the random statement and slung an arm around her friend's shoulders, leaning back against her. "But, sometimes you can be really stupid too."

"I don't need to be hearing that from _you_ of all people," she snapped with a grin.

"I'm serious," she laughed. "You can be so dense about some things. Especially when they're so clear."

"Oh? Like what?" Before she could answer, Luffy came up and joined them, bored half to death from just watching the two of them talk the whole time. He jumped up onto the side next to them and smiled, chuckling a little too.

"Hey Luffy!" greeted Lin.

"What're you guys talking about?" he asked, squatting down.

"Nothing; just some things. I think I'm going to go now. I'll just leave you two to bond," she quickly answered, slipping away. Saro sent a quick glare and curse at the escaping blonde before Luffy plopped himself down next to her.

"Hey…" she greeted, taking a look at the sea. He said nothing and blew a sigh to move a hair out of his face. There was a silence between them, neither one knowing what to say to the other without making themselves look like an idiot.

"I'm hungry. Are you?" he asked, earning a nervous look from the writer. "Let's go get a snack!" He turned around and hopped off the edge, holding out a hand to her. She turned around as well, holding out her hand for him. He grabbed it and ran towards the kitchen, dragging her along.

"Slow down before you run into someone!" she called, right when the kitchen door opened, and he rammed into Sanji. "See? I told you."

"Watch where you're going, shitty captain…" muttered Sanji while he sat himself up. A hand appeared before him, belonging to Saro, and she helped him up. "Enjoy the snack I made," he said with a grin on his face. She walked in past the groaning straw hat wearer and stopped in front of the table, her eyes seeming to gleam a bit.

"Man... that really hurt," he grumbled, standing up. There were a few clinks and clatter and before he knew it, a piece cake was presented before him. "CAKE!" He grabbed it eagerly and shoved the entire piece into his face, chewing noisily, but gladly. Saro sighed, and stepped outside, quietly eating her cake while walking down the steps from the aft deck. Luffy quickly placed a rather larger piece of cake on his plate, and ran on after her.

"You've got frosting all over your face, Luffy…" said Saro with a fork in her mouth. She sat down, leaning against the mast, Luffy joining her while rubbing his face randomly to get rid of the frosting. He gobbled down the second piece, spreading more frosting on his face. Afterwards, strangely, he sat there watching her, resting his arms up on his bent knees.

"Luffy, you look like a moron," she said, chuckling. She lifted her hand and wiped away the frosting all over his mouth and cheeks, he not minding one bit. He even smiled, a lot like a kid just acting innocent after doing something he really thought was fun. "Great, now I got frosting all over my fingers."

"I'll help!" He grabbed her hand and licked off the frosting from her fingers.

"Ah! Stop it! That's disgusting!" she said, yanking away her now saliva covered hand. He grinned again, a blush on his cheeks, and she wiped it off on his vest, not that he cared. He was going to clean it eventually.

"I can't help it! I just like cake a lot," he said with his funny laugh. She scoffed, obviously noticing that. "Besides, you didn't have to clean my face for me." She blushed, realizing he was right, and continued eating her cake, the boy watching her. After she had finished it, now a smile on her face, he decided to say something.

"You must like cake a lot too," he cheerfully said.

"What made you think that all of a sudden?" she asked, an eyebrow raised as she set the plate on the deck grass.

"You're smiling really big." He grinned and pointed at her face, the writer blushing again and covering her mouth. "You've got frosting too!" He swiped it off of her cheek with his finger and licked it off. There was a momentary silence, not that those weren't that rare anyway, while Saro's eyes wandered until again, the captain spoke up.

"I got a question Saro, and I think you can answer it because you're really smart," he said, turning towards her. She side glanced, and then fixed her attention to the blue skies above them.

"Ok then. What's your question?"

"You know how Sanji always acts really weird around girls all the time? And he says all that mushy stuff and does all those funny things?" She nodded, closing her eyes to rest a bit. "Do you know why he does all that?" Her eyes opened again, and a blush spread across her cheeks until she regained her composure. She cleared her throat a few times, unsettled from the sudden question.

"Uh… Well… I don't know the _exact _reason why he does all that. One could be that he was raised like that," she answered. She added in afterthought, 'I swear, who the hell would believe that?!' "But, I guess there's an obvious reason. He just likes women and seeing them happy."

"Oh." Luffy placed his chin in his hand in thought, seeming to be thinking very hard on the subject. "What do you call that though?" Saro slightly gripped at the towel, a feeling of anxiety tingling up her spine.

"Well, in his case it's probably lust… but simply put… I guess you'd say that he's in…" She drawled for a moment, closing her mouth before anything came out. Luffy looked at her expectantly, almost eager, and raised his eyebrows too. "I guess you'd say that… he… loves them."

'That was extremely difficult to get out… why… it was just a simple word. "Love". That was it!' she thought troubled. But, the captain's face seemed to light up suddenly, as if he reached an epiphany.

'Is that what it was? Is that the weird feeling I always got when I'm around her? Maybe it is! I don't know for sure, but I'll tell her anyway!'

"Saro!" he started. "Saro, I have something I have to tell you!"

"Calm down. What is it?" she said, unsettled even more now. That weird feeling she felt before, and the thought that was bothering her came back as well.

"I was always so confused, but I think I know what it was now! I think I know what it is! Saro, I-"

"Land-ho!!" interrupted Usopp from the Crow's Nest. Saro looked up, her attention drawn away and the straw hat's words disappeared from his mouth. He, too, looked up and jumped up to his feet along with Saro. "Straight ahead!" continued Usopp.

"Another island? A vacation sounds nice right about now. Let's check it out," she said happily. She turned ahead towards the front of the ship, what just took place sort of leaving her mind. She walked a few paces before stopping, looking at him. "Oh yeah, what was it you were going to say?" The boy's face flinched a little, and he opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

"I… I, uh…" he stuttered.

'Wait. That weird feeling didn't come up when I was talking to her. Maybe it's not there anymore…'

"I… think we need a vacation too!" he said with a smile. Saro chuckled and softly smiled back, gesturing with a nod of her head to go and check out the island from the front of the ship. They stood watching the new island in the distance, along with the rest of the crew. Saro sighed, relaxed, and turned towards her captain.

"Why not then? Let's take a vacation here." He nodded and grinned stupidly, bringing an amused smile to her face.

'Lin's right. I am a lot happier than I was when we lived in the real world. She's also right about Luffy… he does remind me a lot of… _him_.' Saro sighed, a memory flashing in her mind before she closed her eyes. A tear escaped, unexpectedly, but she quickly wiped it away before anyone could notice. 'I still want to cry when I think of it? I guess that's just what memories do…'

"Saro, what's the matter?" asked Luffy, the only one who noticed her turn away.

"Nothing, it's nothing," she answered. She smiled again, hiding her thoughts and he stood beside her, the pounding in his ears quieting down.

'That weird feeling came up again. I guess it's not gone after all! But I still don't know what it is…' He pondered over about this reoccurring feeling until Saro's sigh, nothing new, seemed to just interrupt his thinking.

"It's so beautiful. Never thought I'd see an island and enjoy it at the same time," she idly commented, leaning lazily against the railing. Everyone had pretty much dispersed by now, getting ready to land at the new island. Thinking on the comment, he turned to her, a troubled look on his face.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I never really liked sailing much… or the water for that matter even before I ate the devil's fruit." Luffy stared at her a moment, his mouth partially opened.

"You mean… you never liked sailing in the first place?" he asked, half heartedly. She suddenly turned to him, thinking she might've said the wrong thing. She was prone to doing that since her high school days. "If you don't like it, did you just come along because you had no choice?"

"No! It's not like that!"

"Then, why?" Suddenly, a blush came across her face, and she slightly twitched with her fingers. He took a step closer towards her, making her stand up straight. "Why?"

"Uh… well… I, uh…" She continued stammering, walking slowly backwards and away from him. Then, quickly and from out of no where, she suddenly was lifted high into the air by the air, gasping in surprise. "Whoa! This is- AH!" Her body was swept higher, and then was sent hurtling towards the island they were already so close to.

"What the- I didn't know you could fly too!!" he called, stretching out his rubber arm at her. The writer looked at him nervously and tried to reach back, but the wind carried her too quickly. Everyone else came out from all the commotion, seeing the writer being carried away by the wind.

"Saro! I didn't know you could fly!" called Lin enviously.

"No… I don't think that's the case, Lin-chan…" said Sanji.

"Follow her!" ordered the captain, everyone answering with action. Meanwhile, Saro was dropped off onto the sandy shore, quite roughly actually, and sat up, sputtering sand everywhere. The ship quickly rubbed against the shore as well, the anchor dropped, and several of her crewmates jumping down on the shallow waters.

"What the hell was that?" she muttered, standing up. Just as Luffy came running up to her, a group of tribe looking people burst out from the surrounding shrubbery, pointing spears and other various sharp and highly dangerous weapons at them. A line of bees followed right after them, circling around Saro's wrist with their stingers pointing at her skin.

"All of you. Step away. Now," said one gruffly from behind a rather large mask with protruding, blunt teeth from the mouth part. It had strange carvings on it, as well as multi-colored feathers sticking out of the top. Luffy burst out laughing at how ridiculous they looked, pulling at the feathers.

"Weirdoes! Is this the circus? Are you circus people?" Harshly, they shoved their spears closer to his neck, Zoro grabbing his sword.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," said a woman's voice from behind the crowd of tribe people, all of them turning their heads with scowls or dirty looks. "Unless, of course, you don't mind your friend here dying from lethal bee stings." The group standing in front of the owner of the voice separated, revealing a fairly tan, tall, and somewhat muscular woman. She wore a cloth wrapped around her chest, and a sort of loin cloth, both decorated with writings and designs.

"WOW! That's one SEXY lady!" commented Sanji, his nostrils flaring and his eye turned to a heart. Lin cleared her throat to no avail. Not that the other lady seemed to care; she seemed rather disgusted actually. Ignoring the staring eyes of the blond cook, she turned her attention back to Saro, who was staring at her new bee bracelet with some concern.

"You. I want to fight you. Right now." She pulled out a sword presented to her by one of the other masked tribes members. Lin gulped and stood behind Sanji, who was still ogling, while Luffy lazily held his hands behind his head, unconcerned at all. He even shrugged as if he was giving his permission for them to fight.

'Is this what you call happier, Lin? There's a ring of lethal, possibly deadly, bees wrapped around my wrist, and an Amazon woman holding a sword bent on fighting me to the death. What more could I _possibly_ want?'

* * *

**So long! So random! So cliffhanger-y! Well, put in as much fluff as non-randomly possible. (Failed horribly, didn't I?) And I know all of you just hate me and Usopp for doing what I did when Luffy was about to say SOMETHING. Just SOMETHING. Hehe. I am teh evial all the way. But, I give the blame to Usopp. Why? Because i'm the writer, that's why! Oh yeah, and now the introduction of another new section of the story. I'm still debating with myself over whether to make this an adventure or to get to the main point I keep thinking about all the time. Well, that's another time for me to think about. If I _can _think of a whole other adventure for them and time and readers and all that fun stuff. And just in case you don't know, I'm EXTREMELY hyper at the moment. Too much sugar for me. Well, that's about it for me. I should go and do something to get rid of all this excess energy before I lose more sleep tonight. Maybe I'll e-mail someone. LOLZ. Bye Byez.**


	27. Welcome to the Village!

**Hehe! I is back with chapter 27! But, I probably won't update again for a while. Depends, because I'm going to be very busy this school week. Several things to worry about, but let's just ignore that for a moment. -ahem- At first, I had no earthly idea what to write about, but Rivermoore's Horse gave me an idea (more like a conclusion being jumped to...lol) in one of her reviews, so I decided to use it. I hope you don't mind me using it! I'll talk some more to you guys at the end of the chapter. So, get to reading!  
**

* * *

**Chapter 27**

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Ok, why do you want to fight me?" asked Saro, trying to reason her way out of this. The Amazon lady, not pleased with the delay, placed her sword down by her side for a moment. "I didn't even do anything to you!"

"Yeah! Luffy, aren't you going to do anything?" asked Lin, expecting a reaction. The captain turned his attention away from acting like a monkey in front of some of the tribe's people and shrugged.

"Why? Saro's strong enough. She can fight that lady," he answered.

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT, YOU IDIOT!"

"Enough talk! We shall fight now!" Without hesitation, the lady sprung at Saro, swinging the sword down at her. Saro easily dodged, jumping out of the way and in a less crowded area. Again, the Amazon lady attacked again, swinging sideways while the writer jumped up and threw an arm back to throw a punch.

"Come on Saro!" cheered Chopper, hopping up and down.

"I bet you 10 belis the Amazon lady will win," whispered Nami into Usopp's ear.

"What?! Saro's going to win of course!"

"Do you see the other woman? Saro doesn't stand a chance." Usopp thought for a second.

"Maybe you're right." The challenger ducked, Saro landing on her hands and feet into the sand.

"I can hear what you're saying, you know!!" she exclaimed, ducking from a swipe of the sword. "This is ridiculous! Why the hell are we fighting?!" With no answer, she jumped to dodge again, the sword landing in the sand.

"Stop dodging, you coward! Aren't you going to protect your man?!" At that, Saro paused and stood lopsidedly straight, bewildered as to what in the world this woman was talking about. Not that she had long to think in the first place for the tribe woman dropped her weapon and went for a bare hand fight instead. Saro leaped, turning into her cat form in the air. "A devil fruit user?!"

"Yeah, and don't go and try to say that's not a fair advantage," said Saro, standing into a fighting position. The other smirked, an evil look in her eyes. Or maybe that was pure crave for a fight.

"Not at all. That's just fine," she answered, running towards her. Saro ducked from a punch and swept her legs around, tripping her. She rolled over onto her back, but Saro stopped her by holding a hand to her throat, the other hand pointing at her with claws extended. The Amazon lady grimaced, a look of scorn on her face, but just shook Saro off.

"She pinned our leader down. That's never happened before," Saro heard whispered among the masked people.

"I'll do more then that!" The writer ran towards their leader, bent on breaking _something_. The leader brought out a wooden spear, which Saro's cat jaw's locked onto, her teeth now bared. Her pupil's were slits now, glaring at the Amazon lady menacingly.

"As expected from a carnivorous Zoan type. A look of blood thirst lurks in your eyes," commented the leader with a smirk. Saro blinked, and her grip loosened. The Amazon lady took this as her chance, and swiped the spear to the side, throwing Saro back. She slid against the sand and landed to a stop, blood dripping from the scar now on her cheek.

"Saro!" called Lin, knelling beside her. "Why you! You'll pay for that!"

"Stop. It's just a cut." The writer stumbled back to her feet, wiping the blood from her cheek.

"That's right. Stand right back up and fight me," said the leader with, yet again, a smirk. "Taste the blood and crave for mine." Saro did as the Amazon woman had said, but only to prove a point. She turned back into a human and stood into battle stance again, confusing the other fighter.

"I'm not some monster. I'll fight you without my powers. Winning will be just as good without them." The other glared, also getting into a stance.

"Big talk for someone who hasn't landed a hit yet." Just then, Saro dashed forward, landing a punch right across her face.

"What was that? I didn't quite hear you. Something about not landing a hit, I think." The Amazon lady continued to glare, baring her teeth in a scowl while Saro looked down at her with a smirk. "Come on. Get up and _fight _me."

"How dare you mock me?! You shall perish! This is now a fight to the death!"

'God… this woman has serious problems…' They both ran at each other, threw a punch, and both of them hit at the same time, the two of them stuck in that position for a few seconds. Then, relentlessly, the Amazon lady threw attack after attack, forcing Saro to only use defensive fighting.

"Now, you can die!"

"Kiitsu! Stop it now!" A hand shot out and stopped the attacker, their red eyes and long red hair looking like flames. Saro tripped backwards and fell on her back, the wind knocked out of her for a few seconds.

"Nahi! Let go! This is a fight to the death! Release me, now!" The one called Nahi held tight onto her friend, her short green hair flying back and forth as Kiitsu struggled. "Once I defeat her, that man will be mine!"

"Who the hell is this "man" you keep talking about?!" yelled Saro, finally getting a hold of time in order to ask the question. Kiitsu stopped fighting against Nahi, though the later kept holding onto her arms, and the leader stared at Saro confused.

"You do not even know who it is that is yours?"

"Uh… no one is mine. Not even whoever you're talking about, who I still don't know."

"He is not yours?"

"… I'm not going to spend the rest of my time repeating everything. No. Man. Belongs. To. Me. Understand?" She slipped out of Nahi's loose grip and stared at Saro for a moment, the writer nervously adjusting her feet. Then, Kiitsu turned towards Luffy and ran to him, the captain turning around to be hugged by the tribe woman.

"What the hell?!" The entire crew gawked at the two of them with surprise written all over them.

"Uh… what's going on?" the writer asked, half serious.

"Oh, Straw Hat Luffy! I thought I'd have to shed blood just to have you all for myself!" cried Kiitsu, nuzzling her head against the boy's vest. "But, now I know that you belong to no one!"

"You mean you were fighting for _him_?!?" exclaimed Sanji, half sobbing. She nodded happily. "No!!!!! Why does he get the sexy island lady?!"

"Why'd she think he was mine?!" exclaimed Saro, extremely confused and sure that she had lost all sanity by now. The tribe's members lifted off their masks and rejoiced for their leader while the crew members began sprouting more and more questions.

"WAIT A MINUTE!" Everyone fell silent after Nami's yell, and turned towards her. She stood tall and pointed at Kiitsu. "What makes you think you can just have Luffy anyway?" She looked up, an innocent look on her face, and leaned back against the boy's vest.

"Well, no one else has him, so I took him," she said in a babyish tone.

'This is definitely not who I just fought… is this what they call bi-polar disease?' thought Saro, a few drops of sweat formed on her forehead.

"Why do you ask? Is he yours?" she retorted, a smirk on her lips. Saro saw a blush form on the navigator's cheeks, and looked elsewhere.

"N-No! But, he's going to become the King of the pirates! He can't do that while being stuck here!"

"King of the Pirates?! Marvelous! I shall be your queen then!"

"God, please forgive me for my sins and give me back my sanity," muttered Saro to herself. Just then, Nahi, who had the same clothing as Kiitsu, interrupted by clearing her throat.

"Uh… I am very sorry for my friend's actions today. Perhaps a feast and hospitality will be enough for forgiveness?" she offered nervously.

"Feast? I'm all for that! Let's do it guys!" yelled Luffy, holding his priceless hat while Kiitsu continued to hang on to him. Usopp, Chopper, and Sanji had no objection. Neither did Robin or Saro, both not really caring the least as long as it got them some rest. Saro was already worn out by the day's events and was much in need of it anyway.

"I especially apologize to you… Saro?" said Nahi.

"Yeah, I'm Saro. It's… well, I'd say ok if I wasn't so confused. But, I guess it wasn't that bad." Nahi chuckled, and then turned towards Zoro and Nami, who were reluctant on going to the feast.

"Won't you join us?"

"You just tried to kill one of our nakama, and you expect us to join you?" gruffly asked Zoro. Saro narrowed her eyes to half glaring slits, and sighed.

"Hey Nahi, is there any Sake or something? You know? Alcohol?" she asked loud enough for Zoro to hear.

"Oh! Yes! Of course! That is always needed for a celebration!"

"Ok, I'm in," said Zoro, joining the cheering group of boys standing around Luffy. All that was left was Nami, who still seemed pretty distressed.

"What about you?" asked Saro casually, looking at her expressionlessly.

"I don't trust them." Saro knew it would be hard to convince Nami in joining them after seeing her reaction to Kiitsu. But, only assumptions could be made. So, she decided not to try and began leaving.

"I wouldn't worry about Luffy. He'll leave, most definitely. He'll stay friends with her, but I don't think anything will stop him from finding One Piece," she said over her shoulder as she left with Nahi.

"Do not worry about finding the way if you decide to come. Just go straight through the jungle, and you will find our village. If anyone asks, just say that you are with the Straw Hat. I hope that you will join us, Nami," said Nahi as instructions. The rest of the crew followed Kiitsu and her friend into the shrubbery. After them, the rest of the tribe's people followed, and Nami was left on the sandy beach by herself.

'_I don't think anything will stop him from finding One Piece_.' Nami scoffed, watching as they left. Her face slowly grimaced, and a scowl formed as she violently kicked at the sand on the ground once.

'What do you know? You've only known him for barely a week, and you talk like you've known him your whole life! What do I care though… actually… why do I care?' She paced around a few times, glancing at the path everyone took every few times.

"Why aren't I mad at that Kiitsu girl? Am I really… no, I can't be. Am I? Why would I? Agh!" She held her hands to her orange hair, and turned back to the jungle. "I'll fix it soon enough." She ran and made her way past all the shrubbery, heading towards the village.

**OoOoOWith everyone elseOoOoO**

"Uh… could you get off of me?" Luffy tried to push Kiitsu off of him, but she held tight, giggling while doing so. Saro watched with half closed eyes, and then turning her view to Lin, who was doing the same thing with Sanji, except the blonde cook had no objection.

'So that's who she was reminding me of…'

"Saro-san?" Saro looked up and turned to Nahi, who was standing right beside her. "Do you think it was safe to leave Nami-san back there by herself?" The writer pursed her lips a bit and sighed with a shrug.

"She can fight, and you can't force people to do what they don't want. She'll come around eventually," she answered. Nahi nodded in understanding. "Are we here?" asked the writer when she saw light after what seemed like ages of walking in the dark with humid air.

"Why, yes! We are! Welcome to our village!" She pulled down a branch and Saro walked ahead into the cool air. They walked into the tribe grounds where several huts resided and animals roamed with the people. There were small fires outside of most homes, probably a symbol of some sort. They continued in and walked through the village, entering a center area in front of a sort of throne.

"Welcome to the village square! Here is where we hold all of our celebrations! Please, get settled while we prepare for the feast!" announced Kiitsu. Luffy whooped, to the pleasure of Kiitsu, and everyone sat down at low built tables with a pillow for them to sit on. Saro looked around at the scenery, and made note of how developed the people were. Kiitsu left to prepare for the feast while Nahi stuck around with the guests.

"I think I'll explore around a bit. This place looks interesting," said Saro to no one in particular. Robin agreed, adding, "I'd like to learn the history of this tribe."

"Are you a historian?" asked Nahi, a bit hopeful.

"More of an archeologist, but a historian as well since I want to learn about the past more than the present." Saro had already left, following a group of children kicking a rubber, animal skin ball around.

"If you would like to learn our history, I will gladly take you to the temple of our ancestors and our dragon God, Adei," suggested Nahi. Robin nodded, and the two of them left for the temples while the rest of the crew stayed at the village square. Not that they minded getting left behind. Many of the village children had gathered around them, asking them various questions to keep them busy anyway.

**OoOoOWith SaroOoOoO**

"Ms. Pirate, want to play with us?" eagerly asked one of the kids she had followed. She smiled and nodded, running towards the rubber, animal skin as well. One of the older kids swiftly pulled it away and began running in another direction, the younger kids following.

"So, you're the leader? Well, bring it on!" she called, running after them. She jumped over his head, landed and swiped the ball, kicking it high in the air. All of them chased the ball's shadow, trying to be the first to hi it when it fell. In the end, they all collided with each other and fell into one giant heap, the ball falling right beside them. They broke out into laughter just when Nami walked out of the jungle bushes.

"Saro, what are you doing?" she said, an eyebrow raised in curiosity.

"Oh nothing. Just getting to know our grateful hosts," she strained to say, pushing one of the older kids off from on top of her. She struggled out of the heap and stood back up, dusting her clothes off. "Decided to join us, huh?" Nami averted her eye angrily and scoffed.

"Not because of what you said, if that's what you think."

"You're a bit too hostile for your own good. Lighten up a bit," said Saro, a hint of hypocrisy in her tone. Nami ignored it and turned back to the younger girl, an unsatisfied look in her eyes. "Come on, I'll take you to the village."

"I'm fine on my own, thank you very much," she snapped, holding her head high and walking off by herself.

'Fine. Just be that way, Ms. Diva.' Saro turned her attention back to the game, only to have her eye caught by the sight of Robin and Nahi walking up stone steps. She excused herself from the group, the little boys and girls waving a good bye before continuing their game without her. She jogged towards them, reaching the bottom steps as they walked ahead.

"Hey! Wait up!" she called, running up the steps. They turned around, greeting her as she stopped in front of them. "What are you guys doing?" she panted.

"I am showing Robin-san our temples. She wished to learn of our past," explain Nahi, politely. Saro looked up with interest and followed them, entering into ancient grounds where crumbling columns and statues stood by themselves against the forces of Nature. Saro looked around with interest while Robin had her view fixed on a temple with a dragon statue on it, probably the main prayer temple.

"Here. This is where we pray to our God, Adie, and give him offerings in return for a plentiful year," explained Nahi. Saro smiled at her politeness, her personality reminding her of how she was when she was younger. Robin went ahead and began trying to transcribe the ancient text written around the temple.

"Hey Nahi, I don't know why I think this, but was Kiitsu always the way she is now?" randomly asked Saro, her thoughts swimming on one idea. The tribe girl looked up, surprised, and averted her eyes a little.

"No… why do you ask?"

"Oh, no real reason. Just something that was bothering. I was just curious." The writer stepped towards the steps of the temple, her hands shoved into the pocket of her khakis. The large side pockets jumped with each step, bouncing against her legs. She looked at the writing on the columns supporting the inside.

'This is such an intricate language system…' thought the writer, running a hand against the old stone. 'I wonder how old it is…'

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but the feast should be beginning shortly. I believe we should head back now if we wish to return in time for the festivities beforehand," said Nahi with a weary smile.

"That's fine with me," said Saro, turning back towards the tribe girl. Robin left where she was and Saro walked down the stone steps, the both of them following behind Nahi. The younger girl of the crew members glanced up at the archeologist, seeing an insightful look on the older woman's face.

"What did it say, Robin?" pondered Saro, holding a hand against the back of her neck to cool it off.

"It spoke of a legendary spirit that constantly wanders these grounds until it finds the next leader of the tribe. If the leader's will is strong, then they will not be possessed. That's all I know. I didn't get a chance to read on," she explained. Saro pondered over that a little bit, glancing at the tribe girl before them.

"We'll come back here later tonight. I want to know what the legend is," she whispered.

"Why the sudden interest?"

"I've got a hunch that that isn't just a legend," she replied. "But, something tells me that an adventure's brewing right before our eyes…" she added, a defeated sigh following. Robin chuckled at her reasoning, but at least she could continue her investigating. Nahi gulped, feeling a bit distressed, but glad at the same time.

'Maybe they can help… Maybe they can save our people before its too late…'

* * *

**There we have it! Another beginning to an adventure! What perils will our pirate crew have to endure now?!??! But, off that subject. Please, no one get mad over the Kiitsu liking Luffy thing. Don't worry. I can't say anything now, but just trust me on this. Again, I thank Rivermoore's Horse for the idea, but don't go flaming at her either. I make things happen for a reason in a story, just like everything that happens in life have a reason. But back to the adventure subject again, I don't know how long it will last, but I'll try to make it as long or longer than the Sirens one. Well, we'll just have to see where it goes, huh? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and reviews will be appreciated! **


	28. A New Encounter

**Wooooooooooooowie has it been a while since I updated. There was tons of things I had to do. Last week, I was taking these tests the whole week, so that was stressful enough. Then, so far it's been just really stressful on the normal level. But, alls good and I'm here to post chapter 28, no matter how random it gets. It was ok, an now it's getting into the adventure now. I'm sorry it took so long, and this one is shorter compared to what I have been writing. That might start happening, the chapters getting short I mean. But, we'll just see when we get there. Enjoy!  
**

* * *

**Chapter 28**

"This jungle is so humid…" panted Saro, pushing past the last row of jungle bushes out of her way. She took a deep breath of the fresh and cool night air. She fell forward, her hands on her knees, while Nahi and Robin stood collected and feeling just fine. "I don't understand how you can be so fine after traveling through that God forbidden sauna called a jungle."

"I am accustomed to it," commented Nahi.

"As am I. I did live in Alabasta, a desert, for a time," added Robin. Saro looked up, exhausted, and dropped again with a loud sigh. "Are you from a colder region, Writer-san?"

'You could say that…' thought Saro, standing up straight again.

"Anyway, I believe we should continue on. The village is just right there, and you need time to change." Saro's head froze and then cocked to the side. Robin, though not as curt as Saro had demonstrated, was also intrigued. "Did I not mention? I'm sorry, but you must change into our people's clothing for the feast. It is a part of our culture for prestigious guests to do so."

'You call a rag tag group of pirates "prestigious guests"? Ha! What _has _this world gone and turned into…?' she thought. But, the writer simply shrugged it off, following Robin and Nahi into the village grounds. The entire area was lit up with blazing fires on poles and an open fire in the middle of the Village Center. Sanji and Luffy turned around, noticing movement out of the corner of their eyes.

"Saro! Robin! You got back just in time!" chirped the younger boy, running up to them. He was in the village apparel himself. He wore no shirt, and a long type of skirt made from the flexible pieces of bark from the trees weaved together. It was an odd piece of clothing for even though it was made from bark, it moved around fluidly. "Hurry up! The fun stuff is about to start!"

Before she knew it, several other females suddenly began pushing her forcefully into one of the huts. She tripped over her feet and fell to the ground with a loud thud. The writer groaned, flipping herself onto her back. Her eyes slowly opened, revealing Nami in the apparel of the villagers.

"That's what I'll be wearing?" Saro stood back up, still a bit wobbly, and took in the outfit. It comprised of much the same articles of cloth that Nahi was wearing. The design was a bit different, but it still showed a lot of skin.

"What? Too much for you?" commented Nami.

'More like too little…' retorted Saro in her thoughts. She probably had no say in this, like many things she's dealt with. Reluctantly, she accepted the clothing handed to her and went to an enclosed area to begin changing. Nami stared at the worn out piece of something resembling a blanket that hid Saro away. With a huff, the navigator left the hut and joined her crew mates.

Not long afterwards, Saro came out, wearing a different variation of the clothing, which was much more comfortable. She wore a half shirt, the hem falling just above her belly button and the sleeves hanging off her shoulders. With that, she wore semi-baggy pants that resembled pocketed khakis.

'Least it isn't that brazen…' she thought, placing her clothes on a bed. Robin came into the room, also having finished changing. She wore clothes more similar to Nahi, but didn't mind one bit. She placed her clothes down, and they went towards the Village Center together, surrounded by loud music consisting of drums and fifes.

"Saro! Saro, come sit over here!" The novelist looked up, seeing Luffy waving his rubbery arms in the air.

"Alright, alright," she laughed, coming over and taking a seat on the ground. The fire in the middle suddenly jumped several feet into the air, when receded, exposed the tribe leader: Kiitsu. The music had stopped for their leader to say a few words.

"Welcome!" she said, loud and clear. "Welcome our great guests, and please help yourselves to whatever you feel fit. Enjoy your stay on our island and make yourselves at home!" The music stuck up again, Kiitsu jumping over the fire and beginning to dance around while other females of the tribe joined in.

"You look pretty," said Luffy, a smile on his face. Saro felt herself blush, and for some reason, she thought she saw a hint of red on his cheeks. She shook her head, telling herself it was merely the color of the flames.

"Heh… uh… t-thanks." She nervously laughed a few times before taking a sip of the drink in front of her. She twitched nervously, feeling his eyes watching her. Kiitsu noticed this and came over towards them, dancing in a suggestive manner.

"Would you, straw hat, please dance with me?" she asked in a babyish voice, causing Saro's stomach to turn.

"Sure!" he chirped, jumping up and joining in. They danced together, in front of the writer. She watched for a little while before turning her attention elsewhere, more directly towards Sanji and Lin who were laughing together. Zoro glanced over, noticing Saro's expression, which wasn't very pleasant, and cleared his throat.

"Something wrong?"

"Huh? Nothing! Nothing's wrong, what makes you think something's wrong?" Zoro raised an eyebrow, but shrugged it off, taking a swig of his alcohol drink. She turned back to the captain, who was having fun acting like an idiot.

'Nothing's wrong…'

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

After a fair amount of time, the food was finally being passed out, though Saro, as usual, was not in a mood to eat. She looked around at the empty village, the fire crackling and the soft wind whispering. She shook her head, feeling her head burdened by a weight. The writer ate a few servings of each thing and got up, stretching and leaving towards the empty side of the area.

"I need a walk. I'll be back later," she said, leaving before anyone could object. Lin watched her leave, her glance falling on Luffy for a moment before returning to the current situation. Nami watched her go, a glare in her eyes, but Nahi interrupted her thoughts, asking if everything was alright.

"Just fine," she answered. Nahi left to speak with the others while Nami silently ate.

Kiitsu watched with a sly look on her face as Saro left. A devilish grin spread on her lips as she inconspicuously snuck to sit next to Luffy.

'Finally. A moment alone with my king.'

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

"This feels so much better," sighed Saro, twirling on one foot for a brief second. She watched the fire burn for a moment, holding her hands toward it. Exasperated, she sighed and threw up her hands in defeat. "What's wrong with me? I feel like I've felt this forever. What am I doing here? What am I looking for?"

"What are you looking for?" asked a familiar voice, carelessly and unknowing of the current situation. Saro spun around, only to come face to face with Luffy, a grinning fool at the moment.

"Oh… oh, nothing. I was just talking to myself." She smiled nervously, clearing her throat as well. "What's up?" 'Oh that sounded so not you,' she thought.

"I was just wondering why you left. You looked kind of mad during the eating," he responded, cocking his head to the side. "Now I just know you wanted to talk to yourself." He grinned, making Saro want to smile and laugh and feel giddy, but she suppressed it, knowing it wouldn't be normal.

"I must be going crazy…" she muttered to herself. "I just want to get some fresh air, so I think I'll explore around a little." She quickly turned to leave, her pulse fast and her thoughts unclear, but he stopped her by the wrist.

"Wait… Saro? Are you avoiding me?"

'Just what I need…' She turned around, a smile on her face. "No! Of course not."

"Can I come along then? I really don't want to talk to that crazy girl anymore…" She half chuckled, and allowed him to come along with her.

"Let go of my hand though?" Luffy blushed, letting go. They walked along into the forest, stumbling upon a path. "Hm… I didn't see this before. Let's see where it leads." Happy to explore, he hopped along ahead, turning around every few feet to make she Saro was behind him. They trekked along in silence, only the rustling of brush was heard by both of them. But soon, there was the sound of rushing water. Luffy's paced picked up, almost to running, and Saro had a difficult time keeping up with him until he suddenly stopped, Saro ramming into his bare back.

"Sorry!" She jumped back, flustered. But, the feeling stopped when she saw what they had heard a while back. A rushing waterfall stood before them. Not one of several hundred feet, but it was still majestic to her. A small ravine lay at the bottom, the ripples never ending.

"I'm going to swim a little," he said, pulling his skirt thing down. Saro quickly turned around, a full blown blush on her cheeks and a panicked look on her face.

'Ok, I knew he was stupid, but come on!' she thought, trembling.

"Uh… Saro? What are you doing?"

"You just took off your skirt… thing… just like that! I was standing right there!" There was a silence.

"I'm wearing my shorts…" She turned around, seeing the boy in his classic blue shorts standing right in front of her. He noticed the blush on her face and felt nervous himself, a blush also showing. "I-I-I guess I should've given you a heads up. Sorry." Nervous chuckling was exchanged, and he turned around and jumped in, his straw hat falling to the jungle ground. He resurfaced; bewildered for a moment as to why he could swim suddenly.

"I guess because it's fresh water. But, who knows. The devil fruit is a mysterious fruit," said Saro, sitting by the edge with her feet in the water. 'That's weird… doesn't he remember he can't swim?' she added in after thought.

"Cool!" The boy dived down underwater, enjoying the pleasure of the water without drowning. He resurfaced again, pulling his wet hair back. "This is great! Come on Saro!"

"No. I'm good. I'd rather not," she retorted quickly, expecting the invitation. He swam over to her and looked up at her with a pout.

"Come on, you scared cat." Saro rolled her eyes, and splashed water on his face. He cupped his hands and threw a good amount of water at her face, her hair becoming soaking wet. They carried on their little water fight for a while, the moon's light beginning to show up.

"Alright," she declared, covering her face, "I give! I give." He laughed, as did she, and they fell into a lapse of silence again.

"Saro. I don't know, but I think you make me really happy a lot," he commented. She scoffed, wringing her hair dry.

"Really now."

"Yup! I don't know how to say it, but… I think… I think it's-"

"There you two are!" Kiitsu jumped in, interrupting Luffy. "I've been looking everywhere for you! Come, Straw Hat! The main event is nearing, and we need you for it!" He cocked his head to the side, getting up from the water.

"Ok then. Saro, can you keep my hat?" He tossed it towards her, she catching it easily, and he left with Kiitsu back to the village.

"Hey, wait!" He stopped and looked back at Saro, who surprised even herself for calling out. His eyes were big and curious, a look of innocence in them. She froze for a second, and just added, "I'll… I'll see you later." He blinked and walked off after smiling at her odd behavior, leaving himself with his thoughts for a moment.

'Maybe not yet. Maybe it wasn't the right time.'

Saro sighed, gripping the straw hat in her hands. She got up, the water dripping down her shoulders and her back. She looked at the hat contently for some reason, something she didn't know why she did. The writer placed it on her head, it slipping down a little over he eyes. She took a breath, a little shaky, and exhaled.

"It's not that. It's never that. It won't be that," she said, turning around.

"What?" She pushed the edge of the hat up, her sight now revealing Robin standing in front of her. The younger girl let it drop, shadowing her eyes.

"Nothing. I guess you're here to check out that temple again. I'll go with you." Saro walked out of the clearing and back into the jungle. Robin watched her silently and followed.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

"Hey, where are we going? This isn't the way back," wondered Luffy. Kiitsu stopped and looked back at the boy, a smirk on her lips.

"It's a shortcut," she whispered, continuing again. He went along, shrugging his shoulders. Her pace quickened, Luffy almost stumbling over his feet. They soon began to run, and pretty soon they popped right out of the jungle, into another clearing. It was just like the other village, only much smaller. A few huts here and there, and a fire burned at the center of the area.

"Where are we?" Kiitsu dragged him along, ignoring his question. She continued to pull him along, now the boy's wrist painfully moving. Finally, he yanked his hand away, rubbing the sore area. "What the hell's going on?!"

"Don't worry. You needn't worry about that," said a voice from the shadows. Kiitsu stood beside the entrance of a door, a smile on her face. Luffy blinked, confused, and stood straight with his hands in fists.

"Who's there? Come out so I can see you." No answer. "Hurry up or I'll just have to force you out!"

"Such assertiveness. A strong voice and spirit you have. It's no wonder I am so attracted to you." The mysterious owner of the voice walked out from the shadows, a seductive smirk on their lips. "Hello… Monkey D. Luffy."

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

"We should be there," said Saro, walking ahead. "Yup. Right there." They went out into the open where the temples were and Saro pointed towards the main temple they were examining earlier. The two paced over there, Saro looking behind her every few times. Robin noticed the behavior and inquired.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know… I just feel a presence behind me." Her eyes narrowed. "And it isn't a good one either…" Robin ignored it for now, only to examine the Hieroglyphics. She gently ran her hand from right to left, apparently the way it was to be read, and stopped suddenly to read.

"I've found the spot from before," she said idly.

"Well, what's it say?" Robin scanned it over, trying to decipher it.

"If the will of the tribe's leader is weak, then they're body will be possessed by the spirit. By then, it will be easily influenced in anyway, good or bad." She continued reading down the line. "The only way to remove the legendary spirit is for the leader to…" Robin paused, thinking hard on what it was trying to say. After a moment's silence, Saro's patience got the better of her.

"Well? What's it say, Robin?"

"I can't read it. It's too worn out," she answered, blowing a defeated sigh. Saro crossed her arms, pondering over the situation. Though, the feeling of someone behind her grew stronger until she finally spun around. A yelp was heard and Saro backed up, scared to death by the new presence.

"Who the hell are you, and what do you want?!" she spat, pointing.

"I'm sorry! Sorry! Don't kill me!" The new person ducked down, covering their head with their hands. They stayed that way, cowering and trembling.

"I'm not going to kill you, unless you leave me no choice. But, just tell me who you are, and what you're doing here." She heard a sigh of relief, and the person stood up. She heard a snap, and the two torches on the sides of the steps leading to the top of the temple lit up. "Ok! No fancy hocus pocus without warning!"

"Sorry again! I didn't mean to startle you!" Robin ignored the suddenly light and observed the young man, now standing before them. He had a medium short length of hair which was dark brown, as well as his eyes, and he wore pretty much the same clothing as Luffy did. He was just a bit taller than Saro, maybe taller than Luffy, and he had a lanky body, though his kind looking face made up for that.

"You know, you don't have to say 'sorry' to everything you do."

"Oh, sorry about that. Wait! Sorry, I said it again! Agh! Again!" Saro turned her head around towards Robin and rolled her eyes, the older woman chuckling. The flustered tribe boy stopped, and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, his head sinking down a little.

"You're an odd one, aren't you?" asked Robin. He stood up straight to attention, placing his hand back down.

"Yeah, I guess. Sorry." At the word, he jerked awkwardly and covered his mouth. Saro sighed, not caring about his oddity anymore, and went on to ask his name once again.

"Answer my questions from before. What's your name, and what do you want?" she asked a bit forcefully. His expression saddened a bit, partly by the fact that he thought he had upset the impatient writer.

"My name is Roki, and I came here to pray for my friend." Saro cocked her head to the side, curious about the new acquaintance. Robin was as well, but decided to get formalities over with before asking.

"If you were wondering, I'm Robin and this is Saro. We are visiting the island for now," she said, smiling at him. He blushed from the kindness in Robin's voice and cleared his throat.

"Yes, I knew who you were. I just didn't know you were here."

"Well, why are you praying for your friend?" asked Saro. "Something happen to them?"

"It's sort of like that, but it was expected too… ever since she changed…" The writer and archeologist's minds picked up the words and immediately thought of the legend. "But, I guess I'll come back later. You are minding your own business here, so I won't bother you. Sorry for-"The boy covered his mouth and turned to leave.

"Wait," demanded Saro, grabbing his shoulder. "We want to ask you a few things first." He turned around, his eyes showing his confused state… just like someone else. She suddenly let go and took a step backwards, grabbing the straw hat on her head.

"I'm sorry, did I do something?" She gave her head a quick shake, blinking furiously.

"No… you just remind me of someone I know," she answered blankly.

"Oh? A friend or something?" She paused to think, and a slight smile came on her lips.

"… Yeah. A really close friend of mine."

* * *

**Hmm... I wonder who Saro could be talking about? -grins- Well, there's yet another random chapter and the introduction of a new character. This adventure probably won't last as long as the other one, but kind of close. I don't really have much to say right now, except I hoped you liked it and please review! Also, I probably won't update again till next weekend, maybe week. Bye bye!  
**


End file.
